


Of Cold Appearances and Warm Hearts

by ClearEyes95



Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Arandell, Diplomacy, Drama, F/M, Forced Marriage, Gen, Politics, Romance, kingdom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 22:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1242982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClearEyes95/pseuds/ClearEyes95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The pale man with startling white hair and beautiful blue eyes walked through the ballroom with his dark blue cloak trailing him as well as a fine layer of... frost? Then, the man spoke up, addressing Queen Elsa: 'I've come to collect on a dept acquired long ago. I've come looking for you, Queen Elsa, for we are to get married on the winter solstice.'<br/>'And who are you, pray tell, to come to my palace, in my kindgom, to crash my ball to state such an outrage?' The queen replied barely able to contain her indignation.<br/>'I'm the prince of the Winter Court. My name is Jack Frost, my lady,' with that, he smirked and made a bow, mocking the queen and her court."<br/>Raiting may change later on as well as the warnings, this is also available on FanFiction under my other PenName, ClearEyes. You can expect daily updates in both sites.<br/>ENjOY!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is SleepingSiren signing in; I wish you all a good day or good night and thank all of those who clicked on this story and are bothering enough with it to read the Author Notes. This is a story I came up with that would not leave my mind and so it was created. I'm currently working in the chapters and I'll be uploading once a week, unless you, my precious readers, ask for more. That'll only be known by your comments, so if you'd be so kind as to leave one when you're done reading, it will be greatly appreciated. Now, on with the story! (Also available in FanFiction under my other PenName).
> 
> SPECIFICATIONS [Read First]:
> 
> *In this Alternate Universe, I claim that although Jack is, indeed, a spirit, he can be seen because of the power he bears in this FanFiction.
> 
> *The idea of the Winter Court [on later chapters] is not of my own; I read it in one FanFiction (although I can't remeber which) and I liked the idea, so I adopted it into this story becuase it seemed to fit. And even when I adopted the idea, the Winter Court I envision will be different than the one of the FanFiction I read; still, I don't mean to offend anyone.
> 
> *In this Universe, also, Jack is colder and lacking the warmth he portays in the original film of Rise of the Guardians. This is because in this story he has never been human; that doesn't mean he's always going to be cold (no pun intended) and detatched. The Jack we all know and love is still in there, but has yet to be awaken.
> 
> *Elsa and pretty much every other character of Frozen is still the same, maybe if a bif OOC that happened unintentionally, but I tried to keep loyal to the original concept there.
> 
> *I'm adapting this Jack to fit in the Universe of Frozen and not the other way around. This is why I had to change the character a bit, but don't worry, he'll come around.
> 
> I really hope, though, that despite these changed, you will still read this FanFiction and enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. You can expect weekly updates ;).
> 
> DICLAIMER: I do now own under any circumstance the characters of Rise of the Guardias, Guardians of Childhood or Frozen in any way. This is done for entrateinment purposes only, and is (obviously) not for sale or rent. I expect the readers also to respect that this idea is of my original authorship, it has not been copied from anywhere. The bits I might borrow from other stories, if there are any [like the Winter Court, for example], will be declared in the author note. If I remeber who the real author is, I'll name it; if I don't, I'll just write is not mine.
> 
> Without further ado, ENjOY!

The queen sat in front of the chimney as silent tears rolled down her face; behind her, she felt her husband approach. She knew he wanted to help her, but she was ashamed, sad, worried, and, above all, terrified. When he tried to reach for her, to put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, she recoiled from his touch.

"I'm not worthy of being your queen," she mumbled, but he still heard her.

"Don't say that, please," he pleaded, again trying to reach for her before she again backed away.

"It's the second time I lose the baby before it can develop; maybe I'm just not suited to be a mother, after all," she said sadly with new tears overlapping the stains on her cheeks. In a subtle, yet fast dive, the king finally reaches her wife and envelopes her in a strong, comforting hug.

"Don't say that; we haven't tried hard enough, that's all. We can still ask them," he said, his hand drawing comforting circles in her back.

"You're not mad at me?" she asked with a shaky voice, barely above a whisper.

He snickered, quite unroyally, but he didn't care; there was no one but them to hear. "Of course not… it's not your fault," he replied and in a wave of feelings, the queen broke down again in the arms of his beloved. When she calmed down, and just before she fell asleep, he whispered in her ear something that eased her soul:

"Tomorrow at first light we ride to the trolls; they'll know what we can do."

* * *

Just as the king said, before the sun was fully out in the sky, the queen and king were riding together into the forest. She was riding in a formidable white mare, while his horse was a beautiful auburn color. Both of them were excellent kings and loved by the people, but that same people was starting to wonder when they were going to have a prince or princess to success the throne after their current monarchs. They took a while before they could find exactly the place where the trolls lived, but they were patient people. Soon enough, they were entering the clearing with overgrown grass, which was the place where the trolls liked to live.

As soon as their horses were tied to a tree, and they entered the clearing, many of the stones, if not all of them, turned into small, round little beings with funny faces; the one who appeared to be the eldest rose and stared at the king and queen, before approaching the worried couple. "Are you the trolls that inhabit this land?" the king asked in his most formal manner, the one used in diplomatic talks. After all, this was no longer part of Arandel and he needed to be respectful.

"Yes, we are. To what do we honor your presence in our humble home?" the elder asked in a soft, calm voice.

"We wish to seek council," the queen spoke up, feeling her heart beating fast in her chest.

"You may; now come this way," as he finished, he turned around and headed to the center of the circular shaped clearing where he sat down. The king and queen, feeling a bit awkward, did the same right in front of him. With a soft motion, the elder indicated that they could voice their concerns.

The king patted his wife's hand encouragingly and she took the word. "We wish to have a child, and yet it appears that I can't carry them to full term. We've tried for many years and I've lost two babies; we've tried consulting different physicians but their remedies haven't worked as we had hoped. We know that your land is ancient and so are your customs, therefore we come here today asking you if there is anything among your vast knowledge that will be able to grant our wish."

After her little speech, she suddenly felt exhausted and tears welled up in her eyes again, but she pushed them down. Her emotions were on a rampage and another disillusion could, and very well would, kill her. Her anxiousness was visible, and so her husband once again squeezed her hand in hopes it would bring some comfort. It did, even if just a little. Then the elder replied and their attention immediately shifted to the troll.

"We do not have the knowledge that you seek," he said and the monarchs felt their hopes die; that is, until the elder kept speaking, "but I know someone who is even more ancient than we are and she might have a solution. Of course, I hope you won't be telling  _her_  that I called her ancient, or she would be sure to leave us without rain for months," he joked with a light laugh, but the king and queen did not follow.

"Who is this you're speaking of?" the king asked, trying not to let his frustration show. The troll was helping them when he didn't have to, and he knew he couldn't afford to be rude.

"Mother Earth," was his simple reply and then he stood up. "I'll go summon her, because if you try to look for her yourselves you won't be able to find her." With that, he marched into the foliage and the clearing was left in silence.

Somewhere in the conversation, the rest of the trolls had cleared out of the place; not even their rock forms were in the clearing and the couple felt thankful for their moment of privacy.

"Do you think we can still have a child?" the queen voiced her concerns.

The king, in return, thought about his answer. "I don't know," when he saw the sadness in his wife's eyes he was quick to add something else. "But I do know we are going to do everything in our power to find out."

That somewhat calmed the anxious queen, but before she could say anything else, from the bushes came the troll trailed by a tall, slim and pale woman, with golden eyes and flowing black her that cascaded down her back in swift waves. Her eyes were distant, but they held some sort of understanding that the king and queen did not understand themselves. They rose swiftly and bowed, because even if they were royalty, Mother Earth had a lot more authority than they had. But before they could speak, she raised her hand to stop them from uttering a word.

"Before we initiate a conversation, you must vow that you won't speak of this meeting to no one," she said in a soft, yet firm voice. Both of them nodded solemnly and then all three proceeded to sit down on the floor. The eldest troll was with them too to help as a mediator. "I understand you want to have a child, and yet you are not able to carry the baby to full term," she stated but it sounded like a question in another way, which left the royal couple puzzled.

"Yes ma'am," was the reply of the king. Mother Earth smiled softly.

"I can help you grant your wish. Using elemental magic I'll create a potion that, once drinking it, will strengthen your body to carry the baby to full term, is that all right with you?" she then said, barely leaving them space to talk or to feel anything but relief.

"Yes, absolutely," was the eager reply of the queen, now hopeful.

"You must also know that the prince or princess you will have might be a bit… different."

"How different?" the queen asked.

"He or she might develop magic, or might not, it all depends, and that magic in itself will depend on the element with which I make the potion," she explained, leaving the king and queen more confused than before. "It won't be dangerous or substantially different; the baby just might show some talents no other human have."

The royals exchanged a glance and, after a silent agreement, nodded to Mother Earth. "What do you ask in return?" the king asked.

"When I come to collect, you will know," Mother Earth enigmatically said before she stood up, followed by the royals.

"As soon as you conceive, you'll find the vial with the potion near. Take it immediately, and remember, not because is magic it is unbeatable. If anything happens to the mother while the baby isn't developed, it will be lost. Magic doesn't go against the natural laws," after that came a strong wind that lifted many leaves around the royals; when it diminished, they were no longer in the clearing and any sign of Mother Earth or the trolls had vanished.

With a sigh of relief and teary smiled, the queen and king hugged each other tight before returning to their home… and it wasn't even midday yet.

* * *

As promised by Mother Earth, when the queen conceived she found a small vial with a clear bluish liquid that she immediately drank. The potion had immediate effects, making her feel stronger and with more energy. The king was as thrilled as his wife; finally, they were going to have an heir… but more than that, and leaving royalty behind, they were going to have a baby and become parents. With that new responsibility, came new fears and worries that both of them managed to turn into hopes and dreams for their seemingly bright future.

Arandel rejoiced and there were huge celebrations all throughout the kingdom that lasted over a month. Everyone was excited and it could be felt in the air for the new prince or princess. And so, time moved on, and when the first snowfall arrived in Arandell, midways through November, a beautiful baby girl with pale hair and fair skin was born. She was loved immediately by her parents, the staff of the castle, and the rest of the kingdom.

For the first months of her life, the princess didn't develop the magic Mother Earth and warned them about, a worry that had caused them sleepless nights, and so it was forgotten. But when the princess, named Elsa, had her first anniversary of life, they finally showed.

The queen had gone to wake the princess up while the king did his rounds and court sessions, and what a surprise when she found the crib full of white, oh so fluffy snow! At first she panicked, she thought someone had been reckless enough to leave the windows open in the blizzard the night before, but then she repaired in the fact that it was only on the crib. With Elsa in her arms, she rushed to the king and told him all about it, privately, and the following days she was kept under constant watch.

Three days after the incident, Elsa had been playing with an old doll that seemed to please her, watched by her parents as always, when a thin layer of ice started to creep out from the baby's hands into the fabric and the doll. When the princess was done playing, the doll was encased in beautiful white ice.

The king and queen or Arandell were alarmed, yet they knew it was bound to happen when they accepted the deal of Mother Earth… and that's the moment our story  _begins_.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, in this chapter what I tried to do was recreate some events of the movie, to explain them as the characters would've seen them, which ended up in almost me telling you all the story you already know with a twist at the end. The story develops truly on its own on the next chapter, for which I hope you'll stay around. ENjOY!  
> (P.s.: the previous chapter was the prologue, hence the shortness.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here’s the thing. I’ve created two monsters with this story, both of which I know personally, and both of which have tried to steal my laptop several times to read the chapters I’ve written but haven’t posted. Seeing as they really seem anxious to read the next chapter, and seeing I really don’t want to hand in my computer, this will be an early upload. Also, someone else told me that wait a week to post was too long; what do you think? How often should I update? Suggestions are welcome as comments.  
> My next, less convincing argument (or more?) is that the previous one was a prologue, not a chapter, and that all of you my, ever faithful readers, deserve a chapter. It’s short, or well, not as long as others I’ve written, but I hope this will satisfy your curiosity, ease your anxiety, and make you understand the direction I’m heading with this story.  
> Without further ado, then, I present to you, Chapter One! On with the story!

“I knew it would get out of hand!” the king paced furiously the length of his chambers while her wife tearfully watched.

After discovering Elsa’s ice powers, they knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but they thought she would learn how to control them. And after another four years **(A/N: According to the Outtakes of the Soundtarack, in the song calles “We know better” on the comentary it's said that that song is when Anna is a baby and Elsa is four years old; just in case you're wondering)** , they had another baby girl, who they named Anna. They explained carefully to Elsa that she was not to touch the baby or to use her magic _on_ her, and still that hadn’t prevented the incident of that morning.

Elsa, accidentally of course, had shot some of her magic to Anna’s head, almost leaving her in an eternal sleep if they hadn’t been fast enough to go to the trolls again. Now it was the middle of the night and the king and queen were discussing what could possibly be done to help both of their princesses.

“But is it really necessary to hide Elsa’s talent? Even from Anna? You know she can make beautiful things,” the queen tried reasoning again with her husband.

“And risk another incident like this? No; we must separate the girls, each to a room of their own, and lock the gates of the palace. No one comes in or out, dealing with court will have to be outside… we’ll manage such affairs,” the king retorted, blinded by worry and fear.

And so it was done, for Elsa was kept isolated as much as possible from her sister, because her parents wanted and because she loved Anna too much to risk her life again. As far as Elsa was concern, she was a danger to the people around her.

And so the years passed, with Anna drowning in loneliness and Elsa trying very hard to acquire control over her powers. She liked her magic, but she feared it. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. And then, one hateful days the monarchs had to leave on a diplomatic mission by sea… and they never came back.

It hit both princesses hard, but unknown to Anna, the loneliest was Elsa. Her parents were the only ones to accept her magic because they were the only ones, who actually knew, who helped her, who guided her, and now they were gone and she had to deal with it all on her own. Another problem was that the king and queen took another secret to their grave: the origin of Elsa’s power.

The story we know then developed. Many years passed while Elsa prepared to be queen and Anna was kept inside the castles walls. On the day of the coronation though, her nerves betrayed her and her secret discovered. Oh, how she remembered the fearful and weary glances the guests directed at her… They made her feel so filthy, so rejected. There she stood alone, in a circle created by her own power while the rest of the people backed away from her.

And Anna; foolish Anna who wanted to marry a complete stranger… In truth, Elsa didn’t know what to do about that and could care less, but to see the shock in her sister’s face and how she reached for Prince Hans, that stranger, who apparently she trusted more than her, hurt. And who was she to complain? She shut her out, of course Anna wouldn’t want to be near her now…

With that thought in mind, she ran. In town, where everyone’s eyes were on her and she froze the fountains, her emotions went on rampage and she could no longer control her power. The skies darkened and she was cornered… when she touched the water with her foot, though, it froze enough to sustain her weight and she created then a bridge she used to run away. Without knowing, she froze the summer and left everyone, guests and villagers, stuck in Arandel indefinitely.

Still, when she was away in the mountains she finally felt free. She did not have to hide anymore, and Anna could move on with her life without Elsa being a danger to her. In her own isolation, she was completely free to do what she wanted, and she didn’t need to mind about anyone but herself.

The plot unfolded. Anna went chasing after her sister, leaving in charge a stranger who in reality wanted nothing but power. In her quest, she managed to find a man who, although poor and not royalty, was courageous and had a true heart inside of him. He was honest to himself and to the people around him; raised by trolls, what else could be expected of Kristoff? They were the most pacific kind leaving in the forest; their wisdom helped them make the right decision without being reckless. What they did had a motive, and such is the philosophy they tried to pass onto their adopted son. Of course, he still needed to make a living out of something, because he needed to eat and socialize with other _humans_. And so, by fate or coincidence, he met Anna.

He helped her reach the top of the mountain where Elsa’s ice palace was. Anna tried to convince Elsa to go back with her, she wanted to be friends again and she wouldn’t judge her. Still, the demons that hunted Elsa were too great; she was still very much afraid. With her making the decision, it was a lot easier to stay away than to face her problems. And then Anna told her what her powers had caused to Arandell; and those fears she thought had stopped came back all at once. She did not want to go back, she did not know how to fully control her power yet and she doubted she ever would.

However, Anna wouldn’t shut up! She would insist, and keep insisting; Elsa lost her temper and unleashed a wave of ice that pierced Anna, literally, through her heart. And Elsa never knew until it was almost too late… She left… Elsa kicked her out of her palace, content with being in her oblivious isolation where she could pretend everything was perfectly fine. She didn’t care about Anna or Arandell at all… except she did.

Anna started to freeze, just like the trolls had warned the royal family a long time ago, but you already know that, don’t you? And at the same time Hans leaded a party against Elsa, where two hidden mercenaries tried to kill her and she was forced to defense herself using her powers, making it seem like evil, like she was a monster. But she realized too late.

She was captured, chain in her own dungeon, accused of treason because of something she couldn’t really control. And all the while Anna made it back to Arandell, only to discover that Hans had been lying and pursuing his own interests. He was about to let her die, she trusted the wrong person, and now she felt like a fool.

And then fate intervened… Kristoff returned, Olaf helped Anna get out of the castle; Elsa freed herself from the dungeons with the only thought of escaping in her mind, and Hans going against her to _kill_ her, while deceiving _everyone_ that the evil one was _Elsa!_ And just like fate likes to weave, this intricate pattern came to an intersection in the middle of a blizzard, caused by Elsa’s own emotions and feelings.

And when Hans told her that Anna had frozen to death, because of her, and that her greatest fear had come to pass… everything lost sense. She didn’t know why she was fighting anymore, if the one person she strived all her life to protect had still died of the fate she had tried so hard to prevent. The blizzard stopped, Elsa collapsed; and on her knees in her moment of weakness Hans tried to stab her.

Unbeknown to all, someone was watching and preparing to intervene, someone that was not fate. Standing tall on top of a cliff, where he could see everything that was developing stood a lean boy with pale face and hair white as snow. In his face, two big, startling blue eyes flashed against the paleness of his face. He was dressed in royal robes, those he used when he went out on his rounds to cover the world in winter. With cold detachment, he watched the fight unfold and prepared himself to act, crouching on his knees and ready to sprint on the wind.

“Wait,” a voice commanded behind him and he stopped on his tracks to turn to look at the amused face of Mother Earth.

“It’s you,” he simply said, his voice as cold as the ice he produced.

“Why the long face? Won’t you tell me you’ve missed me?” she mocked and he grimaced.

“She’s going to die-,” he said and she laughed.

“She won’t,” Mother Earth replied.

“-and I won’t have my queen, as you promised long ago,” he finished but she simply shrugged and came to stand next to him.

“Look closer,” she whispered in his ear before disappearing in the wind, as silently as she had arrived. He frowned at her games, which he deeply disapproved of, but nonetheless turned his attention back to the fight unfolding below.

Hans was suddenly on the ground, presumably unconscious, while Elsa clung and cried into an ice statue that resembled her sister Anna. _Oh,_ the unknown thought, _the sister decided to save the queen, instead of receiving the kiss that would stop her from freezing. How noble, yet foolish._

His eyebrows rose, though, as he saw the spell of the ice statue break and Anna change back into human. He was deeply intrigued, but he just flashed a cocky grin while he took off to his own palace riding the wind, his long cane gripped between his fingers. _Soon_ , he thought, before the seen was completely lost from his sight. _Soon I’ll come to collect._

Back in Arandell, queen Elsa had finally learned the secret of his powers and how to control them, even if she didn’t know where they came from. She didn’t mind, however, as she taught Anna how to skate on the ice in the once again sunny kingdom. She could finally live _free_ , in another kind of freedom, which permitted her to be with her family and to rule the kingdom her parents entrusted her.

She thought her problems were over… but they were just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the end of Chapter One. Tell me what you think in a review, comment on your ideas and thoughts. I really appreciate your opinions and I hope you stick around for more. Thanks to everyone who commented and liked this story (kuddos), I really feel flatered about your interest.  
> Until we meet again,  
> Sleeping Siren


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we'll see a little bit more of Jack's enigmatic personality, of this cold and selfish side of him that I'm experimenting with. Also, there will be a lot of exploring the sister's relationship after the events of Frozen and how Jack's arrival will challenge all that. I hope you like this chapter, please leave a comment because I like to know your opinions. ENjOY!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys, I’m back! I’m really amazed by the support you’ve been showing this story, and I found myself eager to post the next chapter. I decided that I must have five chapter in stock to update the next one, and seeing as I just finished the seventh, I feel the liberty of updating today this chapter. My other excuse is that March has just started, and that deserves an update. I apologize in advance because, you should know, I love cliffhangers; you can expect some of them in this story. Again, Jack is finally going to appear! I am doing my best to make him completely despicable, and his background story is tragic to help explain. But all in due time, you’ll eventually know it.

Queen Elsa had a headache that was increasing.

She was in court, listening to the different petitioners that kept seeking an audience with her, she had to suppress a sigh and a frown while she tried to keep the headache at bay, and failing miserably.

Since the whole incident following the coronation, the betrayal of Hans, the act of true love that Anna performed even if it turned into ice for a few moments, etcetera, etcetera, the gates of the castle were always open and there were no more secrets. The people came into court to ask council, to solve problems, to address political and economic issues, among other things. Every day, since midmorning until midday queen Elsa sat patiently on the throne, but that day was proven to be almost unbearable.

“Are you okay?” Anna asked beside her, eyeing her sister with worry.

“It’s just a headache, it’ll soon pass,” Elsa replied, although it did little to ease the worry Anna felt. “I’ll be fine, let’s get this over with so I can go to rest.”

And so, they finished the last of the petitioners and closed the gates of court. And once again, silence reigned in the castle… well, not really; since the gates had opened, so had the diplomatic and economic relationships with the neighboring kingdoms. That meant that they always had at least one visitor or two of another kingdom that was staying in one of the many available rooms in the castle. Also, the staff had increased; they had rehired all the personal the previous king and queen had fired to protect the secret; a secret that was no longer hidden.

It never ceased to amaze Elsa, even two months after the whole affair that the people actually liked what she did. They were proving to be accepting of her power and they didn’t fear her. Of course, there were those who opposed, but who said Arandell was a perfect kingdom? Those who had complaints also came to court… and they were the main cause of the queen’s headache.

Once the doors were closed, Elsa finally stood up from the throne. Her right hand, Anna, followed her closely. They went to the dining room, which was huge, but they sat together in two seats and chatted through their meals. Their bond was so much stronger now, that they were almost inseparable.

“So…” Anna started, looking sheepishly at Elsa. She raised an eyebrow in return and lowered her fork with an eye-roll.

“Ask away, Anna, what’s on your mind?” she said and Anna beamed.

“Are you still holding the ball next week?” she eagerly asked, speaking so fast that Elsa has actual trouble understanding what Anna wanted to say. When she comprehended, she smiled.

“Of course, we’re celebrating your birthday, after all. Why wouldn’t we host it?” Elsa said resuming her interrupted task of eating.

“Well, I’m still getting used to having people around. I… I fear that I might wake up one day and realize that this never happened, that you’re still locked up in your room with all the doors and windows closed and that I’m alone again, speaking to the paintings,” Anna explained, trying to say it in a light mood but failing badly at trying to hide the uncertainty, hurt and fear in them.

Elsa then reached a hand across the table to grab Anna’s hand, which lay limp next to her plate. “I promise I will never hurt you again,” she said and smiled reassuringly. Anna, feeling her doubts dissipating, smiled back. Of course she wouldn’t be alone; she had her sister back, the people and Kristoff… _Oh my, Kristoff!_

Anna rose from her chair so fast that the chair swung back and forth a couple of times; so fast that Elsa got startled enough to drop some water into her dress.

“Anna?” she asked her sister, concern clear in her voice.

“I forgot I had to meet Kristoff today, I’m late!” Anna screeched.

“Then go, don’t mind me. I bet he’s already bored,” Elsa joked and received a glare in exchange, before she saw the skirts of her sister disappear through the door. She sighed in contentment. _Maybe now I’ll be able to get a nap before doing more paperwork_.

  
  


On the meantime, in the deck, Kristoff sat waiting with a withering flower in his hand. He felt a cold breeze that made him shiver. _Winter is coming soon,_ he thought and couldn’t help but laugh when he remembered that somehow, and only in Arandell, the summer became winter. The demand on ice decreased so much…

And he met Anna. Who, by the way, was late yet again! How many times would she leave him waiting like that? He heard hurried footsteps behind him and turned to see a very flushed Anna staring at him with pleading eyes. How could he ever say no to those eyes? It was worse than Sven when he was whining and asking for carrots.

 _Wait, did I just compare the object of my affections with Sven? SVEN?!_  He reprimanded himself while he smiled at her.

“I’m so sorry, Kristoff, I completely forgot,” she apologized. He shrugged.

“I just arrived, don’t worry,” he said and she raised an eyebrow at the withering flower. “Okay, maybe I didn’t just arrive.”

She smiled and he felt himself melting once again. Anna really didn’t have the slightest idea on the effect she produced in him. And so, they were on with their date.

Anna still felt a little unsure, especially after Hans. She had been so eager to experience what love was that she jumped at the prospect with the first stranger she ever met… with disastrous consequences. She knew Kristoff was nothing like Hans, but she still wanted to be sure that if she loved him, it was real love based on honesty and a solid friendship also. Like she saw her parents act when they were still alive.

  
  


Time passed, and soon the week was over and the awaited ball was to take place the next evening. Anna couldn’t help being excited, bouncing and jumping all around the palace and seeing the decorations and trying to help. ‘Trying’ because even when she wanted with all her heart to be useful and help, in her overexcitement she screwed more things than she accomplished and decided it was better if she kept away from the servants. She would have to apologize and compensate the double effort she was forcing them to make.

Elsa, on the other hand, was overstressed. Besides being the queen and attending to her duties, she wanted and was there to supervise first hand that everything went according to the plan for Anna’s party. She reviewed the responses to the invitations and the guest lists, she checked that the decorations were going smoothly, she spoke with the chef to arrange the menu, she listened the rehearsal of the musicians she hired just for the occasion, and, last but not least, she prepared her own surprise for her baby sister. Of course, she also had to attend court and listen to the complaints and petitions of her people, because they came first than everything else.

Long story short, she barely slept, barely ate, and barely had time, if any at all, to just sit down and relax. When Queen Elsa was convinced that everyone could survive without her, she retired to her chambers. And what a surprise to find there Anna waiting for her; composing herself, she had to use every bit of self-control not to yell at her sister to get out of her room, for she just wanted to sleep.

“Anna, what are you doing here?” she said in a tight voice, really failing to hide her stress anymore.

Startled by her tone, Anna resolved to haste on her visit. “I just wanted to say thank you,” she said, firmly. That startled the tired queen, and the princess then was quick to explain. “I see everything you’re doing just for me, and that you want everything to be perfect, even if that means sacrificing your time and effort. And for that I thank you.”

Warm in the heart, Queen Elsa smiled softly to her baby sister, and then proceeded to embrace her in a hug. “I’m sorry for all the time I shut you out, so the least I can do now is organize the best party Arandell has seen in years.”

The sisters broke away from each other and smiled, before Anna quickly retreated to her chambers and left Elsa to, finally, get some sleep. She still would have to rise before everyone else, but at that moment she didn’t really care anymore. She slept in a peaceful, dreamless, slumber.

 

Before dawn had fully risen, Elsa was up and about. She went to the kitchens where se fetched a small cake she had ordered the day before from the main cook, and made her way upstairs to her sister’s chambers. And what a sight to find Anna all tangled up in the sheets, her mouth open and drooling in the pillows! Elsa wish she could freeze the picture (no pun intended) to have a good laugh every once in a while.

The queen then proceeded to sing an old birthday song traditional in Arandell, which managed to do little to wake the princess. A chill of ice on her skin, though, did the trick. Anna jumped in the air at the contact, and Elsa couldn’t help but laugh! The startled princess glared at her before her eyes landed on the cake. “Is that…?”

“Yes it is, Happy birthday Anna!” Queen Elsa exclaimed once she composed herself from the laughter. “It’s small one, just for you. I wanted to give you something before the ball began, or even the day for that matter, as a surprise.”

Anna’s smile was etched all across her face and she was positively gleaming. “Thank you, Elsa.”

“And I surely don’t regret I did it,” Elsa commented eyeing her sister, who just then realized her hair was a mess and that she was still on her night gown, while the queen was already dressed and tidy to receive the court, which would open earlier than usual because of the party that night. Anna pouted, earning another round of giggles form Elsa –yes, she is able of making that sound –and then left to let her sister dress herself.

When Anna was ready, and had eaten a piece of her cake, she left to the docks where she’d meet Kristoff. For some reason it had become their place to meet up almost daily, and she wouldn’t change it for the world. This time, when she arrived on time, Kristoff was the one missing. She suppressed a laugh at the irony, while sitting down to wait for him.

While she was waiting, she got to witness something she would never forget, even on her deathbed. Looking into the horizon as the sun rose; she glimpsed a figure against the light. A dot that got increasingly bigger as it was nearing the shore. At first, Anna thought it was a new and strange kind of bird, but when the dot got close enough, what she saw took her breath away.

Against every odd and law, there was a young man floating, his dark blue cloak following behind, giving the illusion of one big wing. He was dressed as a prince, Anna recognized, and her gaze grew increasingly curious. She had never seen someone like him do anything of the sort, and the man hadn’t indicated he saw her in any way.

When he reached a cliff and landed, Anna could see the sun reflecting on his skin and finally could see his face. His skin was really pale, almost completely white, with even whiter hair that stuck out in many different directions. He was tall and skinny, maybe too skinny, and he had a strange cane with him; and yet, he walked perfectly fine!

She was pondering on this when she was startled by someone grabbing her shoulders from behind. Startled, she turned around ready to punch someone, when her eyes met Kristoff’s.  “Oh, it’s you,” she breathed in relied and he chuckled, obviously amused at having startled her.

“Happy Birthday Anna,” Kristoff said, and instead of handing her one flower as he usually did, this time he gave her an entire bouquet. She noticed, also, that he had dressed more formal than what he usually wore, and the princess realized then that he was ready to stay for the ball that night. She blushed when Kristoff leaned in and kissed her cheek softly.

“Thank you,” she said breathlessly, listening to the mute drum her heart was playing. She stole a glance towards the cliff, but the mysterious man was nowhere to be seen. She pushed it to the back of her mind and turned to Kristoff, only to find him bowing towards her.

“Princess Anna of Arandell, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the ball that’s being held tonight with the motive of your birthday?”

He was so serious, and absolutely charming, that Anna’s face broke into a huge smile and replied with a courtesy of her own, “I would be delighted.”

Then they broke into laughter and held hands. “You’ve been practicing, haven’t you?” Anna finally asked after a few moments of comfortable silence.

“Well, I don’t want to look like a fool, or to make _you_ look like a fool. I also learned how to dance, so that I don’t step on your toes tonight,” he proudly stated, beaming at her. And even when Anna wasn’t that sure of her feelings, she couldn’t help but think that maybe Kristoff was _the one_ , without meaning to, of course.

The rest of the day they spent together, until Anna had to return to the castle to change into her party gown. A few hours later, Queen Elsa stood in the middle of the ballroom with all the guests standing on the sides as they waited for Princess Anna to descend the big staircase. They didn’t have to wait long, for soon they saw Anna in her beautiful pink gown, which was especially ordered for the occasion, coming through the stairs. Her hair had been combed up in a beautiful coronet made by a braid, and she was holding herself completely fine. Of course, that’s now how she really felt.

When she reached Elsa, the ball commenced. Kristoff had the honor of having the first dance with her, while Elsa took the hand offered to her by a duke of abroad. During the party, Kristoff made sure to keep the suitors well away from Anna, letting everyone know that the one courting her was him. On the other hand, Elsa was a very attractive woman, queen and single; which meant also an attractive prospect for all those men who wanted to marry. Even when she didn’t want the attention, the queen didn’t want to appear rude or to start diplomatic complications because of something as trivial as ball, and yet she made sure to only dance once with each of them. By the middle of the ball, though, she was already exhausted. She caught a glimpse of Anna, holding hands with Kristoff, chatting amiably with other girls her age. She was so happy, that immediately Elsa thought everything was worth it…

Until the door slammed open with a strong, cold wind, and on the threshold stood the very same pale man Anna saw descending from the sky. Up close, he was even more attractive, and he was obviously a magnet for discreet, and no so discreet, glances from women and men alike. He entered royally, with his cape following his trail, and leaving behind him… _frost?_

“Who are you and what is your business in this land?” Queen Elsa asked stepping in front of the crowd, face-to-face with this stranger of pale skin and hair. Oh, and did I mention his startling blue eyes?

“I’ve come looking for you, Queen Elsa, because we are to get married on the winter solstice,” the man drawled with such an indifference and boredom, that it was hard to believe he actually meant what he said.

There were collective gasps, especially from the girls; there were disappointed sighs of the men, who wanted the queen for themselves; there was an itchy Anna, who had a bad feeling of the man; and there was a very red in the face Queen Elsa, who didn’t know if she should kick that man outside of the castle or burst into laughter in his face. And still, his eyes spoke of seriousness, even if that also meant a deliberately cold detachment he did not make the effort to conceal. Taking deep breaths, the queen spoke again.

“And who, pray tell, are you to burst into _my_ palace, in _my_ kingdom, to crash _my_ ball and announce such an outrageous thing?” she demanded, letting a little anger show in all the forced politeness she had to show in front of her guests, who practically were the entire kingdom.

“I am the prince of the Winter Court,” he bowed deeply. “And my name is Jack Frost, _my lady_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Love it, hate it? Love me, hate me? I’m sorry!! That’s an awful cliffhanger!! Next chapter I PROMISE Jack will appear more, so please don’t kill me now, or else you’ll never know. From this point on, the story has become mine; that doesn’t mean that I own the characters, but instead that I won’t be using anymore of Frozen’s canon to follow it. I haven’t decided yet how much of ROTG’s canon I am going to use, but there’ll be some more characters of it. I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter, and I really hope you post a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter. I did review this one before posting it, which is something I didn’t do with the two before, so I hope the number of mistakes has decreased.   
> So this is all for this update, I hope you like it and that you’ll stick around. Thanks again to all those who put this story and/or me in their alerts and favorites, thanks to you I was all giddy yesterday. To all those new readers, please leave a comment to let me know your opinions!  
> Until we meet again,  
> SleepingSiren


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we see a confrontation between Queen Elsa and Jack Frost, because the former refuses to marry someone like him. He's as cold as ever and won't back down. What's going to happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello beautiful people! Today is the day of the next chapter, as you may have noticed. First of all, I’d like to thank my friend Cailidevel for the beautiful drawing she made of this story. Apparently, it inspired her to go back to drawing stuff, and she’s been doing some scenes. Look for her on Tumblr!! I thank you all for your incredible support; I expect you won’t be disappointed with the next chapter. Please, ENjOY this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Here we go!

_Okay, so here are the facts_ , Elsa frowned in thought while pacing the length of the alcove she used to work in State affairs. _There is a man who claims he will marry you, is that going to happen? Of course not! Then why is he still here? Am I even considering his offer? Yes, NO! I mean… This is so confusing._ With a groan, she plopped down on her chair while she drank some tea in hopes of calming her nerves and anxiety.

After he had muttered those words, everyone in the room froze (no pun intended). There were legends on the Winter Court, legends that were not pretty and usually made people quiver with fear. They originated the tales they told the children to get them to go to sleep, what those same children dreamed of when they said they had nightmares!

So, when he stated to be a prince of that court, and everyone recovered, many snickered and laughed at him. How could anyone believe in such fairytales? _Yeah, why believe in a Winter Court when they have_ me _, Queen Elsa of Arandell with power over the ice and snow… wait!_

Effectively, her thought led her straight to wonder where her powers came from, and the morning after she had gone into her father’s studio looking for anything he could’ve left behind to explain that which he left unexplained. For her it had always been as natural as breathing, but why? And why was she the only one?

But when some of the princes and dukes that also wanted Elsa’s hand had challenged the man for her, the prince Jack Frost, with a flick of his hand, had froze them in their place by creating a coat of ice around their feet. That made the audience draw gasps and exclamations of surprise, but also of outrage. This made clear he was not a human being, or if he was, a clearly powerful one. Elsa’s hands trembled in anxiety; only of thinking what this could mean to the spectators, what they would think and report to their own kingdoms… because of this man, Arandell’s reputation could go astray in a matter of weeks, if not days.

The prince, Jack Frost, had wanted to take her right away to his palace in the south, but she refused thoroughly. Instead, she managed to turn things around so that they would meet in court to _discuss_ the issue.

“What’s there to discuss?” he had said, nonchalantly. “You’re parents made a deal, and I’ve come to collect. Yes, dear, you are the _prize,_ ” Jack Frost said with a strange, possessive glint in his eyes that didn’t promise anything good.

Queen Elsa shuddered. Just the thought of someone like him, who could act indifferent and bored one minute to completely lunatic the next without looking crazy at all! His pose, his stand, it was obvious that he felt himself above everyone else; even Queen Elsa, which meant that he really did see her as a prize. _But why did he choose me?_

There was a shy knock on the door, and peering in came Anna. “Elsa?” she hesitantly asked. The queen nodded and the princess stepped into the room with her. “Are you really going to meet him today?”

“Yes,” the queen said, resigned.

“And are you going to marry him for real?” she said fearfully and, Elsa could tell, on the verge of tears,

“Of course I won’t! Anna, why would you ask me something like this?”

“Even if he threatened to hurt me or the kingdom?” she asked again and this time the queen halted.

She had not thought about that at all and that had been reckless. Of course, if said Jack Frost threatened to hurt someone she loved or her beloved kingdom, she would oblige. He could corner her so easily, that the simple thought scared her. She had nothing against him, because even if she relied on her powers, if Jack Frost is the _prince_ of the infamous _Winter Court_ , his powers must be greater than Elsa’s, and if she fought, he could take hostages. She was already cornered, and that’s why said prince looked so _smug_!

Indignation and anger burst in her soul; how _dare_ he manipulate the situation so that she would be _forced_ to accept an engagement she did not want, but making everyone believe she did want?! She groaned again and a whimper attracted her attention back to Anna; her gaze immediately softened.

She rose from her seat and embraced her little sister, who was shaking for a reason unknown to the queen. It could be nerves, it could be fears, or everything combined. The point is that Anna didn’t want to lose her sister, but above all, she didn’t want her sister to be unhappy. She didn’t want her to make sacrifices that would make her miserable for the sake of everybody else.

“I’m going to do what I must to protect you,” Queen Elsa said after a while. “I won’t let him hurt you. I’m sorry if your party got ruined.”

The princess backed away from her sister in shock, true horror shown in her face. “What? No, no Elsa, I don’t fear for me. I fear for you! I know you are going to do whatever it takes to keep your home safe, even if it makes you unhappy,” Anna said through the tears. “My party was perfect, it didn’t get ruined at all,” she added, but the queen could see the white lie on the eyes of her little sister. She sighed.

“That’s what a queen must do, Anna. We don’t know what kind of powers he has, but his might be greater than mine. I don’t want to be responsible for starting a war, and if I can do something, anything, to keep the peace in Arandell, I will.”

With renewed tears, Anna exited the room in a sprint, leaving Elsa to wonder if it was after all the right thing. She did not want to leave Anna either, but once her selfishness had brought immense grief and danger to Arandell, and the queen was not about to let that happen again. Sitting down again, she got lost in her thoughts.

* * *

She exhaled an exasperated sigh and finished her tea. Standing up, she grabbed her crown and cloak. She usually left them behind, because she didn’t want to look imposing with the petitioners, but with this man she wanted to look very imposing indeed. No one dared to speak to her like he did and get away with it; else the kingdom might think she was weak and try to take advantage of that, same with other diplomats of other kingdoms. Taking deep breaths to calm her raging heart, she made her way to the throne room. There was also the small fact that Jack Frost’s strategy of trying to corner her was very plausible, another nagging thing in her head was that he had mentioned a debt of her parents. Why hadn’t he heard anything about that up until now? It all seemed very suspicious and everything pointed against her. She saw no possible way of winning, and yet she would not stop trying.

When she entered, the audience turned to her with expectant looks. If they had usually a large crowd witnessing the events that transpired at court, now it had doubled in size. Or tripled? Anyway, it didn’t help Queen Elsa get her bearings. When she was settled on the throne, with her upper body tense and rigid, the guards opened the doors to the public court, but instead of it swarming with peasants and other royalty to consult with her, only one man came in.

The despicable man called Jack Frost.

Again, he bowed before her once he was before the throne, but she had the feeling he did it merely because of the etiquette they required. He didn’t seem to care, as if nothing, even bowing, could take away his superiority. He also walked with the airs of someone who knew was going to win, and that thought alone sent an unpleasant chill through her backbone.

She also noticed that the temperature in the room had decreased considerably, like an aura emanating from the prince himself. She shuddered when she saw the trail of frost left by his feet, and again wondered what the real extent of his powers was.

“Your majesty,” he said in a monotone voice that reeked of indifference and superiority that he believed he had. In acknowledgement, the queen nodded her head. “Have you had time to think over the subject?”

“I have,” was her curt reply.

“And what are your conclusions?” Jack Frost asked with a smirk, as if knowing the answer, which he probably did. She realized that he was driven her towards agreeing in a seemingly pacific way, and she had no idea on how to stop it!

So, she said what she thought on the matter plain and clear, “I have no desire of marrying anyone at the moment.”

His smirk widened. “I don’t believe you have a choice,” he stated and the change in atmosphere, to slightly tense and awkward to having everyone on edge, was obviously notorious. Elsa stole a glance sideways and she could see Anna once again trembling with muted sobs, trying to keep her tears at bay, while Kristoff looked at her worriedly and apprehensively; then his eyes shifted from the queen to Jack, then back to Anna, several times. Her attention shifted back to _his majesty_ Jack Frost.

“I do believe you have to explain what you mean by such bold statement,” the queen simply replied, prompting his smirk to keep on widening. It wasn’t even a straight smirk; it was a sideways, full of not-so-innocent mischief, smirk; which held much more meaning that anyone on that court room could decipher. He started pacing the length of the room parallel to the queen, so that she could always see him. _Oh, how much fun he was having_.

“It all started many years ago, when the queen of Arandell could not carry a child to full term. The royal couple then asked for help, an ancient help that the trolls could not give, and so they made a deal with Mother Earth herself,” there was a collective gasp and Elsa had to do her best not to shoot some ice into the mouth of that _royal prat!_ He was talking about her parents, and he was not ashamed of badmouthing them, making them look like fools. She could not allow that, especially in front of Anna.

“Enough! I demand you show some respect to the court your standing on,” Elsa everything but yelled, making all the witnesses flinch at her tone. Only Jack Frost kept his smirk plastered on his face, and the queen had to contain herself from blasting him across the chest. He raised his hands in mock surrender, before continuing his pacing and his story.

“Long story short, then, Mother Earth promised them a remedy so that the queen could carry the child to full term. She needed elemental magic, which is the most natural type of magic in the world, which we the seasonal spirits have. She asked everyone else before us, can you believe it? She wanted to avoid asking _us_ because she _knew_ the price we demanded. And still, when everyone denied her petition, she had no choice but to come to the Winter Court. Have you ever wondered why your magic is over the ice and cold?”

The last question, again, make everyone react negatively. In a silent agreement they had agreed not to talk about the queen’s abilities in front of this stranger, in hopes they could use the surprise as their ally. They thought wrong. Even Queen Elsa had tensed, because she _knew_ as well as she knew how to walk that she _did not_ mention her powers _ever_ in front of this prince of ice. _And yet he knows!_

The prince smirked once again. “Surprised that I know? You shouldn’t, because it was _me_ who gave the magic so that _you_ could be born.”

Directing nervous glances around her, the Queen deemed it proper to stop the court session and to continue addressing the issue in private… with all the risks it might have. She stood up. “The court is dismissed, the session is over. _Your majesty_ , if you were so kind as to follow me, we are finishing this conversation in private.”

Without making an effort to hide her indignation, she did not even turn to see if Jack Frost was following her because she knew he was; if the cold was anything to go by. Strolling into her father’s studio, she waited for said prince to appear. She didn’t wait long.

“Did I offend you, my lady?” he asked in mockery, with his everlasting grin on his face.

“Of course you didn’t; you didn’t just humiliate my deceased parents in front of their people, you did not just make insinuations to humiliate and undermine _my_ authority in my own court, and you did not just said many private things into the air,” she said as calmly as she could, trying too to use a mocking tone.

“I thought it was a public court and that you wanted to know my motives. Everything I said is the truth, which is what is required to speak out loud in such events,” he said, suddenly indifferent again and… bothered? _He dared to look bothered?_

“You could’ve requested a private audience there, claiming that it was because you had personal information you did not wish to divulge,” the queen exclaimed, raising her voice more than necessary, and composing herself as much as she could afterwards.

“And miss my chance of putting a good show?” he snorted. “You humans are just so predictable,” he replied while looking at his flawless nails.

“So you were mocking me, my parents and my court there; weren’t you?” she accused, for which he just laughed.

“Didn’t we come here to address another matter?” he diverted the topic effectively, which just infuriated the queen more, who was now red-faced with contained anger. She would so definitely go to the mountains to blow some steam when this mess was over… _if it ever is over_ , a nagging voice reminded her that she pushed back. She thought about how to continue, but her voice was filled with so many questions…

She chose, then, to ask the question that most bothered her, “what do you know about my powers?”

“Everything,” was his quick reply. “The same magic that I have courses through your veins.” As if to prove a point, he touched a nearby window, which immediately got covered in frost. Elsa tensed again.

“Why did you help my parents?” she then asked, the next question in her list, while she still tried to order her thoughts.

“Because I wanted a bride,” he said again looking bored. “I don’t know if I’ll live forever, and I want to ensure I have someone to succeed on the throne I now possess.”

Again, indignation flared up in her and she huffed unroyally. “Do you have proof?”

There, she’d said it. If he did, which he most probably did, she was screwed. But with the way he looked at her, as if she was speaking another language, she knew he didn’t have anything. He prompted her to explain.

“My parents died a few years ago, and they never mentioned this supposed deal you claim they made with Mother Earth and, therefore, you. So, you must have some proof about what you’re claiming if you expect in the slightest for me to _consider_ your offer,” _if that can be considered an offer, because he was demanding marriage after all._

The confusion in his face made it clear that he had not contemplated this, and that, at least for now, she was safe. She had won this battle, although the war was far from over.

“I regret to say that I do not possess a proof, and I’d also like to add that I feel deeply offended that my word isn’t enough,” her eyes had turned steel cold and all trace of mischief and mockery was gone. He was angry, and for the first time, Elsa felt fear towards this mysterious prince.

Queen Elsa took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and looked at Jack Frost in the eyes, defiantly. “I invite you to come back as soon as you have something to prove what you’re saying to be right. Until then, you are no longer welcome in Arandell,” she declared, knowing she was making a _very_ bold move, but also knowing that it was the only way with which she could prove to this smug prince in front of her that she would not go down without a fight. It would teach him not to underestimate her, and maybe even reconsider if he wanted her as _his_ queen, which was what she was rooting for.

She saw a cold rage in his eyes before the windows burst open and a cold wind engulfed the studio. Papers flew everywhere; everything flew everywhere, actually, making Elsa raise her arms as a shield, which made in turn a thin layer of ice surround her to block the objects from hitting her. When the wind subsided, the studio was a mess, and Jack Frost was gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Did you hate it, did you love it? In this chapter we got to see more of the personality of this Jack Frost, and I know he seems like an a** right now, but believe me when I say that he gets better. He has all his background story planed out and he’s had it kind of complicated, but that you’ll know later on. Please, leave a somment to tell me what did you think about this chapter!  
> Without further ado,  
> Until we meet again  
> SleepingSiren


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we'll see something about Elsa's past, for she will finally learn from a source nearer to her -that is not Jack Frost -the true origin of her powers and she will also make a decesive decision. Jack Frost as well will bring a surprise to Arandell: the proof, what or who could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello beautiful people!! Thank you all for the support you've been showing this story, I am incerdibly grateful and happy and giddy because of it. I hope you like this chapter, some of you might get a surprise, som of you might not. It all depends really. Anyway, without further ado, ENjOY!

“So he left, just like that?” Anna asked for the thousand time to Elsa, while they were cleaning the studio after Jack Frost unleashed his fury.

“Yes, Anna, he was just gone,” Elsa sighed exasperatedly. Even if he was not in the palace anymore, or even the kingdom, the cold fury he saw cross his eyes scared her. She decided she did not want to have him as an enemy, although she feared it might be too late to have him as an ally. He would come back, Elsa was sure.

“And did you kick his butt?” Anna the blurted out, and the utter ridiculousness of that idea snapped the queen from her meditative stupor.

“What…?”

“Is that why he left, because you kicked his butt and threw him out?” asked the eager princess once again, and Elsa couldn’t help but snort.

“Of course not; if we were to battle with our powers, I’m pretty sure he would kick _my_ butt,” when Anna was about to retort something as crazy, Elsa held her finger up. “You didn’t see what I saw; you didn’t feel what I felt. He is very powerful, a force that could destroy Arandell if he wanted… and I think I just pissed him off enough to do just that,” she averted her gaze from her sister and kept on retrieving papers, quills and books.

After a few minutes of silence, Anna spoke up again, “So you think he’ll come back,” she wanted to ask, but it came out more as a statement; a very _true_ statement.

“I don’t think so; I _know_ he’ll come back. I asked him for a proof, which he didn’t have. But what angered him more, I think, is when I ultimately told him that without proof he wasn’t welcome in Arandell anymore. I literally shut the door on his face,” she explained, earning an approving glance from her sister.

“You did what you had to do; he can’t expect you to just throw everything away and agree to a marriage you don’t want,” Anna nonchalantly commented. _But he did expect me to_ , Elsa couldn’t help thinking. Then, among the disaster of papers, book, and quills, Elsa found a small leather book that seemed old and worn out. She opened it, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Anna! Look!” she called, attracting the princess’ attention to the little book.

“What is it?” she asked, somewhat confused.

“It appears to be a journal, and it also appears to have belonged to our dad,” Elsa replied with an excited smile etched onto her face. _I might now find out something about my powers, see if what Jack Frost claimed is really true._

Anna’s own grin widened and she tried to take the journal from her sister, but Elsa wouldn’t let her. She opened it, protecting all the while, and allowed Anna to see something. “Elsa, I want to see too!” the princess pouted.

“All in due time, dear Anna; I must make sure that there is nothing too improper for you to read,” the queen made up as an excuse, which ended up not being such a bad idea. After all, it wasn’t only the journal of her dad; it was the _personal_ journal of a _man_. The meant there could be stuff that the princess wasn’t ready to read. “Tonight, on supper, I’ll let you have it.”

“Really?!” Anna’s pout changed into excitement. “Oh, thank you so much!” she exclaimed while she resumed her task of tiding her father’s former studio.

Elsa knew that if she wanted to read what was written there, to possibly find out the origins of her powers, she could not be next to Anna, as much as she loved her little sister. So, she needed a diversion… “Anna, didn’t you have to meet with Kristoff in a bit?” she tested her grounds.

“Yes, but we’re going to dine together, so I can stay here a bit more,” she replied without looking up from where she was tidying books in a shelf. _Dang it!_ Elsa cursed.

“Well, shouldn’t you go pick up the dress you’re going to wear?”

She appeared thoughtful for a minute. “Not really,” was her simple reply.

“Are you _sure_?” Elsa pressed, and Anna finally realized that Elsa didn’t want her _there_ at the moment. Maybe it was the tone on the voice of the queen, maybe it was the pleading in her eyes, but the princess realized and relented.

“Actually, I do have something else to do. You don’t mind if I leave now?” Of course, Anna didn’t want to embarrass her sister by letting her know she knew she wanted her gone. Although the relief was obvious in Elsa’s face, she didn’t point it out.

“No, no, I’ll be fine,” was the hasty reply of the queen and Anna smiled. Later on they would talk about it, when the queen had calmed down a bit. Anna might have been the little sister, but she was not blind. Elsa was edgy, tense and stressed; and all because of that stupid Jack Frost that came to ruin the pacific life they led. Anna could see that the queen was scared, if not of the guy, of the consequences this encounter might bring for everyone. With a light wave and laugh, Anna left the queen to her own devices in the untidy studio.

When the door closed behind Anna, Elsa sighed in relief and promptly plopped down on the chair behind the wooden desk; there, she opened the worn out book that belonged to her father…

Before closing it again. For a minute she doubted; she was about to pry into the private life of her father. She knew what might be written there, she really didn’t want any details, but she felt the urge to know about her. He must have written something, anything, concerning her powers; she just knew it. So, bracing herself and taking deep breaths, she opened the book and started looking for what she wanted to know.

She avoided the parts where his dad talked about his problems, private life, love life; she _carefully_ avoided when her dad mentioned her mom and the ‘things’ they loved to do. She had look through more than fifty pages when she finally read something that interested her.

 _February 1_ _st_

_My wife and I have been looking for help, but all the healers tell us that is impossible to conceive if the mother isn’t ready. They also tell us that there’s a chance she might never carry a child to full term, and that if she ever does, she might be putting her own life at risk. I want to have a child, if I’m honest, but I don’t want to lose her. I don’t know what I’d do, and I’m not sure this is such a good idea, after all…_

She stopped; despite her curiosity, in that day he hadn’t written anything about ‘trolls’ or ‘Mother Earth’ or anything of the sort. She needed to respect _his_ privacy, because what was written in her hands was something he probably never told anyone; maybe except her mom and that in rare occasions. So, she flipped a few pages and finally she spotted the word ‘trolls’.

_February 10 th_

_Today my wife broke down in tears after she found out she had lost another baby. She had been so excited, and yet so afraid. She pushed me away and believed that I would reprimand her for not being able to carry it full term… it’s not like it was her fault. She already fell asleep, she’s been really tired. My last hope is to find the trolls that inhabit the forest and figure out if they can help us; they know very different types of ancient magic and maybe that is what she needs to carry the baby: a bit of magic. I don’t know the cost, though, but I’ll do everything in my hands if it means we can have a baby. If they can’t help us, then we’ll have to resign to the fact that we might never be parents._

Elsa let her eyes roam over the page, thinking about some time his dad’s hand was the one touching that same page, scribbling down his feelings and thoughts. She held her tears; how she wished she had got to know them better, without the pressure of her powers on top of them. She turned the page, believing that on it she would find exactly what she was looking for… she wasn’t wrong.

_February 11 th_

_Today we went to meet the trolls. The forest is a maze! We believed we weren’t going to find them, but eventually we arrived at this beautiful clearing full of bundles of rocks. Turns out those bundles of rock were the trolls. We then met the elder, the leader, and asked him to help us. Our disappointment when he said he couldn’t… but it didn’t last long, for he then introduced us to quite a character: Mother Earth herself. She promised she would help us, but she didn’t say when or how, just that she was going to leave a vial nearby when the queen had conceived. When I asked her the price to pay she just said that we would know when the time came, and that honestly is something that scares me. As someone educated in commerce, I know that it is unwise to strike deals without knowing the real price to pay; but to deny my wife the child she craves so much? The son or daughter we both want to have so much? I couldn’t find it me to be objective, and so we made the deal; only time will reveal to us if what we did was right or wrong._

Elsa turned the page over, but she found the king was speaking of business, diplomacy, some ambassadors that were coming, a feast they were going to hold, but nothing on Mother Earth, Jack Frost or even the trolls. _That’s it?_ She wondered while feeling a little cheated. All right, so they did strike a deal with Mother Earth, but who’s to say that the magic she gave them belonged to Jack Frost. _Well, I suppose then it belonged to some fiery being because you have powers over the ice and snow, right?_ A voice inside her mocked her, and she snorted. _Why would Jack Frost help my family? He said he wanted a bride, but I can guarantee that there are females where he comes from, so why choose me?_

She needed a way to get _out_ of that mess, not to sink deeper in it. But with what she found, the only thing she was certain of was that she had made a mistake. Jack Frost had been truthful about her parents, about her powers and, apparently, about the deal. She would need to go through with the wedding, but if she was going to get married to _him_ , she would do it on her own terms.

* * *

As the days passed, Elsa grew quitter and thoughtful. Jack Frost hadn’t shown up and that put her on edge. She had made a resolution in her mind. When he came back to Arandell, she was going to apologize. She was going to say she was sorry about her behavior, that she had never been told of her origins and that she shouldn’t have treated him so harshly; that in hopes of dissuading him of doing  _anything_ to her kingdom or the people in it. Then, she’d say that she had thought about the wedding and that she was willing to marry him, because he was not going to breach that topic before she did, under certain conditions. The first one would be not to harm Arandell, of course; the second would be that she’d have a private chamber to call her own because there was no way she was going to be sharing room with  _him_ . She would also demand that she could return to Arandell certain times a year, not to cut ties with her sister completely.

In truth, no one knew about this strategy but her. Not even Anna or Kristoff. She had retrieved the journal that belonged to her father and had read again thoroughly the parts that concerned her. She even found another one, in which his dad, completely exhilarated, had written how the vial had appeared that morning in one of the windows of his chambers. He was going to be a father! Even when it didn’t speak much about Mother Earth or the deal, she still found it nice to hear her parents had been so eager to have her, to meet her. She’d then decided to keep the journal, for it was something nice to remember her parents not as the king and queen, but as human beings like her, with worries, fears and doubts.

Although she couldn’t help but think that other entries were plain useless; one does not register every minute of every day what the _baby_ is doing! She had read and stopped midway of an entry that talked about how she babbled in her sleep, how she ate, _what_ she ate, how she laughed, how she grabbed his hand, how she made a fist…UGH! It could be a bit annoying… no, actually, it was really annoying.

Those thought led her to think once again about a family. She knew she wanted to get married, but the circumstances were so _extreme_ and unappealing that she resented fate a little bit. Her thoughts took a less than pleasant turn when she thought about _after_ the wedding. The consummation, when she’d have to… do stuff with _her husband_ –how she hated that word –things that she didn’t believe she was prepared to do with just anybody. She also knew she didn’t have that much of a choice, but she could postpone it for as long as she wanted. If he ever laid a finger on her, there would be hell to pay. Her powers may be no match for his, but she would do everything she could to keep herself sane and pure. That’s right; he would never _force_ her to do anything she didn’t want to do. She might have been a woman, but she was a damn stubborn one.

One or two days after, she was filling paper work when she decided to take a walk through the gardens. There, she found Kristoff and Anna sitting in a bench, holding hands and talking. She could tell the topic wasn’t one of happiness, and she didn’t have to be a genius to know they were talking about her; she knew Kristoff would take care of her sister when she had to leave. Unlike Hans, he was a good and honest man, who didn’t see Anna as royalty, but as an inexperienced girl that had a very big heart to share. That made her smile.

Going back on her tracks not to interrupt the lovely couple, she took another path. Suddenly, the air grew chilly and she halted her tracks. She felt someone behind her and she didn’t have to look to know who that was. Squaring her shoulders and straightening her gown and back, she turned to see not one, but two beings standing in front of her.

One of them was the very pissed looking Jack Frost, who had a very deep frown on his forehead. Next to him was a woman, tall and slim, with waving long black hair that fell through her back and almost reached the ground. She looked mature and old, despite her young appearance, and her aura inspired respect. The woman and Jack Frost made a courtesy, the later very much against his wishes, and Elsa returned it. From what he had read from her father’s journal, she could tell who this beautiful lady was.

Said lady spoke, with a soft melodious voice that resembled the singing of a bird, “do you know who I am, child?” she asked.

Elsa smiled at her a polite smile that didn’t reach her eyes before replying, “Pleasure to meet you, Mother Earth.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it guys! I hope you liked this chapter, please write a comment to tell me what you thought on it. These comments fuel my inspiration, and I am always very happy to read them, just please don't flame my work; if you don't like it, be polite and tell me why without insulting me or the story. I hope you stick around for the following chapters!!  
> Until we meet again,  
> SleepingSiren


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we'll see a bit more of Jack's personality and a little bit of how he thinks. There is also going to be a pretty intense unsaid challenge between Jack Frost, Mother Earth and Elsa of Arandell. ENjOY!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated, so as a way of saying sorry I'll update twice today!! I hope you like this chapter and that you leave a nice comment. I am really glad this story has been of your liking, and don't worry, in a minute I'll answer to all your comments. Been in exams and all, and been distracted and sick... I guess that's my excuse hehehe. On with the chapter!!

Jack Frost was angry.

He was supposed to have an easy day, picking up his wife-to-be, only to have been kicked out. Also, little miss stubborn had  _demanded_  a proof that he did not possess because Mother Earth made a mistake, or an idiocy, and did not ask the royal couple for a guarantee. No seal, no ring, no necklace, no scroll, and apparently, no telling-our-daughter-her-origins either. He was not supposed to be outsmarted by a twenty one year old mortal princess, and for that he was fuming.

Also, the fact that he had to go looking around the globe for Mother Earth, only to find her in a place too warm for his comfort, and to ask her the  _favor_  –more like demanding her to finish what she left undone –of accompanying him to Arandell to deal with the queen. She had laughed, hard, over ten minutes, and Jack had to listen to all of it  _and_  the speech she gave him after. She was never going to let him live it down, especially when both of them tended to live  _very, very_  long lives.

So when he saw Elsa of Arandell strolling through the gardens, he did not see a gorgeous woman, nor did he see a worried girl, nor did he see a beautiful yet young lady with a heavy charge on her shoulders; no, he just saw the person who had humiliated him and made him do something he had not wanted to do at all. He glared, cursing the queen. She had to become  _his wife_ , whether she liked it or not, and Jack would make sure she understood that. He was not going to be outwitted by a  _mortal_.

"Having second thoughts, Jack?" Seraphina asked him, for which he just huffed angrily.

"As if," he muttered, and just then did Queen Elsa realized they were right behind her. She composed her posture, straightened her back, and turned towards them with a slow deliberation and certainty that Jack found amusing. Her face was unreadable, but she looked confident and smug. The winter prince had to resist the urge to groan in annoyance: she was never going to go easy on him, would she? She also seemed to know exactly who she was talking to, which surprised him greatly; that was not the reaction someone  _just_  had for Mother Nature.

Both of them bowed respectfully, even when he really didn't want to. But Mother Earth wasn't only the mother of the entire planet; she had to be the Queen of Manners too, right? Elsa gave a courtesy of her own, with a smug air that just wouldn't leave her and Jack found that really annoying. She was not acting according to anything he thought she would! She was supposed to fear him, to bow before him, to beg him not to harm her or her people before submitting her life to him. But no, she wasn't doing that. This female  _human_  was… different, to say the least.

"Do you know who I am, child?" Mother Nature asked politely but commanding, trying as Elsa was to impose her will over the other. But this girl wasn't like they thought at all, and even Seraphina would end up surprised by the end of the evening. Elsa's attitude made Jack lose his willingness to make a witty retort or some kind of joke like,  _you wanted proof, there you have it!_  Because she was taking everything so… so… well? Well for  _her_ , not for  _him_. He glanced at Seraphina, but her expression had become unreadable. That meant that she was serious.

Elsa raised her chin prudly and answered, loud and clear, although respectful of the authority before her, "Pleasure to meet you, Mother Earth. Follow me, please, we have much to discuss."

Mother Earth and Jack Frost followed her into the castle, the former making herself invisible to the human eye as she was very prone to do. She was never one to like being stared at by humans; they were so judgmental. And curious, but usually they didn't listen the answer to their questions, instead jumping to their own conclusions. And so, she usually avoided all contact. What made her humble before the late King and Queen of Arandell, he would never know.

This time, Queen Elsa didn't lead them to the place Jack had almost destroyed on his last visit. Instead, she led them to a smaller one, more private and with a window to the see. Jack had to admit, it was a priceless view.  _Focus!_  Once the queen closed the door, Mother Earth became again visible. Queen Elsa had brought beverages, some fruits and nuts, as well as some sweets. She had been expecting them, and for quite a while if her expression betrayed her.

Jack could tell she was nervous, but that she was trying very hard to overcome them and achieving it quite impressively. When she made sure her  _guests_  were comfortable enough, she grabbed her own cup of tea and sat behind a huge mahogany desk with a small book on top of it. It was very old, probably of some twenty years in the past.  _Why would she have that here?_

"Welcome to Arandell, Mother Earth, I must say it's an honor to meet you. My father didn't fail to describe your beauty," Queen Elsa took the word, as the good hostess she was. Seraphina was surprised, which one could tell didn't happen very often, but she disguised it well.

"Thank you, Queen Elsa, but I was told that your parents died long ago and that they never mentioned me. After all, that was an oath they took. So how come you know who I am just by looking at me?" she asked, curiously but somehow pissed. She was being  _outsmarted_ , currently being played by this woman. If she hadn't been in the receiving end, she might have applauded her attitude, but currently she didn't sympathize with the girl at all.

Queen Elsa took the book in her hands, "well, after his  _highness_ , Jack Frost, made sure to make a mess of my father's studio, me and my sister cleaned up the place. We found this among my father's books; it's a journal, one that he wrote himself. So I researched on my own for sources that could confirm what the prince had said," she explained.

Mother Earth raised an eyebrow, not because of the journal, but at the fact that she made sure to accuse Jack of something he did. It was never heard of, but she knew how to play her cards; Jack never mentioned to her having wrecked any studio, "and what were your conclusions on that  _research_?" she made sure to emphasize that word.

Queen Elsa licked her lips nervously, but squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, "I have to apologize because I was too quick to judge the situation, but you can't expect me to take lightly such news I didn't know about. In this journal my father does mention the encounter he and my mom had with you, and he mentions the vial; which leads me to believe that there was, indeed, the use of magic," she stopped, considering her next words. The atmosphere was tense, expectant of what the queen would say next. "It didn't mention where the magic came from, though, so I have no way to confirm it came from Jack Frost."

He snorted; loudly, attracting the attention of both women. He could've sworn she was doing everything just to bother him, and his bad mood was escalating. "Then explain to me,  _my lady_ , why would I say half the truth?"

She smiled softly, with a hint of irony, which made his blood boil (no pun intended), "because, as you claimed before, you want a bride that could give you an heir."

_Oh, how he despised that woman!_

"Very true, indeed," Mother Earth said appreciatively while standing up, "which bring us to the reason I've come here in petition of Jack Frost himself! I am here as the proof you need to keep your parents  _vow_."

 _That stung!_  The vow of a king was law, unbreakable; now that she had played that card, if Elsa refused in any way to the previous deal her parents had made with her, she'd be dishonoring the code of honor and probably declaring war. How to get out of this one? Elsa gulped loudly.

"I imagined as much," she said, "and I assure you that I will keep their word of honor."

Again, Mother Earth's expression turned skeptical, "so you're willing to go on with the wedding?"

Elsa nodded, suddenly feeling very nervous, "I will, but I feel with the liberty of demanding a few conditions."

Jack's face contorted in sudden anger.  _She dares!_  Mother Earth kept her face expressionless, although her stiff posture betrayed her. She was pretty pissed by now with this matter.

"And what are your conditions,  _my lady_?" Jack asked, glaring all the while, and this time Mother Earth allowed him.

Elsa looked intimidated, but that wasn't enough to stop her demands, "first of all, you must not harm Arandell or its subjects in any way, even if I'm not here; second, as I suppose you're going to take me to some kind of  _residence_ , I ask to have my own private chambers; and, thirdly, it would be very kind of you to let me visit this place once in a while. I want this to be clear, I'm going to be his bride, not his prisoner, and I expect to be treated as such," she finished proudly with her chin raised.

Jack was fuming, but Mother Earth blocked him from actually taking a step towards her that might be the start for hostilities. "As you wish, Queen Elsa, I'll personally see to it that it's done," she replied and bowed curtly, making Jack bow with her. With a glance towards him, he knew what she wanted him to do, so he commanded the wind to open the window. They walked towards it and before exiting they turned back towards an astonished Elsa. "We'll come to collect in a week, I hope you're  _ready_  by then,  _your majesty_ ," and then they both leaped into the air and vanished from sight.

_Two battles, how many more to come!_

* * *

As soon as they left and Elsa was sure they weren't around, she closed the window, the curtains and she plopped down into the floor. If she was honest with herself, she felt completely overwhelmed. She replayed the conversation thousands of times in her head, and with each time her dread increased. She had agreed… she had agreed to marry Jack Frost… she had one week left in Arandell… Before she knew it, she had begun to cry.

There, where no one would see her, or hear her, she decided to cry for the last time; to let out all her regrets, her pain, her sudden feeling of hopelessness, because she had sealed her fate.

After some time she stood up, wiped her face from the tears and went to her chambers. The sun was beginning to set, so she changed into a more comfortable dress and, with a cloak on, headed outside of the castle and of the village. She went to the mountains, where she blew off steam with her powers. She built amazing things, all of which she destroyed to be rebuilt again and then destroyed once more. When she finished she was panting and sweating. She realized that some of the figures looked strikingly familiar to a certain winter prince, and with morbid satisfaction she realized she had destroyed most of them with powerful blows from her hands.  _If only it were that easy_ , she thought, before putting her cloak back on and going back into the castle.

That was one  _big_  mistake. When she arrived, the whole place was in chaos, directed by none other than her little sister. She groaned and rolled her eyes, annoyed, before she realized that it was probably one of the last times she'd see her in a very long period of time. That thought brought new tears to her eyes, but she swallowed them and braced herself for the impact of Anna's worry.

It didn't take  _that_  long. As soon as she saw Elsa, she yelled everyone to a halt and they turned their eyes towards their queen. Most of them sighed relieved, and then left to do whatever they were doing before her sister summoned them. In the end, only Elsa and Anna stayed in the big throne room with a thick silence between them. Anna's face was the personification of worry and confusion, Elsa's was an unreadable mask. Finally, Elsa moved to pass by Anna and go to her room; she needed to rest from that awful day.

"Where were you?" the princess asked tearfully when Elsa was by her shoulder.

"I went to the mountains," Elsa replied softly, not trying to sound harsh because she didn't want to scare Anna away. She couldn't afford that.

"Why?" she asked then, "you only go there when you're upset, what happened?"

At the memory of the reunion with Jack Frost and Mother Earth, she spat with all the disgust she could mutter, "Jack Frost happened," at that, Anna let a sob escape and Elsa turned surprised. "You knew?"

Anna looked at her sister sheepishly before nodding, without meeting her eyes. "Some guards saw him with a lady arriving and came to report to me when they couldn't find  _you_. I thought he had done something… I thought he had taken you away from me," she confessed and started to cry earnestly into her hands. Elsa woke from her reverie and hugged her sister tight. The princess was really upset, she kept muttering things like "I thought you were gone," "… never see you again…" and "so scared" among many others that honestly broke Elsa's heart.

She was going to leave, and when she did, she would hurt Anna very much. Elsa led her distraught sister back to her chambers, where both sat down on the bed. They didn't need to talk, they knew many things just by looking at the other.

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Anna broke the silence, Elsa nodded, and they felt silent again. "It's not fair," she then added.

"I know," Elsa complied.

"Then why don't you hide? Why don't you run away?" Anna then pleaded with more tears in her eyes, but Elsa shook her head and looked away.

"I can't, I must honor the  _vow_  our parents made, or else I would be bringing terrible dangers to Arendell," Elsa tried to explain and Anna chose that moment to snap.

"Forget about them! I knew you would do anything to protect the kingdom, but you shouldn't need to sacrifice your happiness, your entire life!" the princess exclaimed and finished with a sob. Elsa sighed and hugged her again.

"You know how politics work, Anna; this is a sacrifice worth making if it keeps you safe," Elsa said truthfully and held her little sister while she cried her eyes out on her shoulder, until the princess fell asleep.

 _I don't want to leave either_.

* * *

Jack Frost arrived at his palace made of pure ice with Mother Earth in tow. He went straight to his personal alcove and she followed him. He was completely furious and felt very humiliated. "Why did you agree to her terms?" he asked after pacing the floor for a long time, his long cape following his steps. He kept running a hand through his hair, showing how stressed he felt.

"It was the only way we could leave in relative  _peace_  with Arandell; she was expecting us and played it very well, I must admit," Mother Earth declared patiently, knowing that when Jack was in one of his moods, not even her could keep him under control.

"Maybe, but now I'm supposed to oblige to her petitions. That way she's going to feel like she can step all over me," he complained raising his hands in passionate motions that denoted  _raw_  anger. Outside in the plains, a huge blizzard had started in reaction to his mood, not like he cared about it.

"You can bend her words, use them against her," Mother Earth suggested. "I also have an idea to get back at her where she will hurt," she added and that got an appreciative glance from Jack.

"Speak up," he prompted and Seraphina was happy to do so with a sly smile on her face.

She walked to one of the many shelves full of books, taking her time to answer and rejoicing in feeling Jack's eagerness to know. Sometimes she regretted what his father had done to the boy, but other times, like this, she thought it was pretty convenient; "well, no one said we had to pick her up during daytime, right?" she rhetorically asked and Jack answered with his trademark sideways smirk.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was meant to show a little bit more on Jack's insight of things, how he personally reacted to some of the stuff that happened previously. Let's be clear, this is not Jack's POV; it's more as if the narrator had focused his attention to him. Because of that, the first part might be a little repetitive, but I felt it was needed so that you, my beautiful readers, can understand this Jack Frost better.  
> And so it ends, this chapter of course, and I hope that you all enjoyed it. Thanks to all those new readers who have added me and/or my story to their alerts. I received some new reviews in some of my other stories but I haven't had the time to reply; don't worry, I've read them and I am really thankful for them.
> 
> Until we meet again,
> 
> SleepingSiren


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, be prepared for a confrontation that's get pretty intense in this chapter, the characters will remain annonymous in the summary. It also reveals what Mother Earth and Jack planned to get Elsa, and so, it is an eventful chapter. ENjOY!! (As I promised, I updated twice today!! :D )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I must say you're the most amazing people in the world! I can't believe you like this story so much, I'm really happy! So here something new will happen: we see for the first time the Winter Palace, which is where Jack Frost lives. When I refer to the Winter Palace is more than anything about the place, whereas Winter Court, in my mind, is everything that's not the palace but it's in it. I don't know if I made myself clear, but I hope you understand what I mean once you start reading this chapter.
> 
> Also, I mention somewhere here a locket, and some of you might think it's the one Elsa's wearing during her coronation (even if that one is not a locket) in the film but it's not, this locket is completely made up by me. I'm sorry, but before I realized that in the movie she had worn one I had already written this piece.
> 
> Also, please don't hate me! I hope you ENjOY this chapter, the story is going to start unfolding and developing nicely from here on. This has been revised by me and corrected (what I could find, at least) so I hope you don't find silly mistakes in here like the one about "sealed her face" and such. I expect you won't find that, correct me if I'm wrong.
> 
> Thanks for all the support you've given this story, I really didn't think it was going to be this popular or appealing to you. I'm really grateful and happy to everyone.

The week passed too fast for Elsa's comfort. After her sister had fallen asleep, she had returned to her chambers to get some sleep herself, only to find it escaped her. She was worried, and her chores had easily duplicated because she needed to delegate a new kind of government while Anna reached her coming of age. She was still too young to be a queen, but as she was next in line, Elsa would personally name her such.

The thing was Elsa hadn't had the heart to tell Anna she only had one week left. She wanted to tell her, she really did, but her gaze full of sorrow always stopped her. She felt like a coward. Wouldn't she hurt more if one day she just disappeared? Like when Elsa had gone to the mountains?

Her happy and cheerful sister had a very hard time trying to conceal her sadness, and every one noticed that. Kristoff had been honestly shocked and worried, especially when she had asked him to have a small talk with her. She had earnestly asked him to take care of his sister; she would need his support every step of the way. She would grieve, she would be sad, and she would have to assume her new responsibilities. And Kristoff had to help her through all of that.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but I wouldn't trust her to anyone else. I don't wish to make that a royal decree or something like that, for this is a more personal request, and I know how deeply you care for her," she said when she finished explaining.

Kristoff flashed Elsa a sad smile, "is there really no other way to fix this? Do you really have to go?"

Elsa lowered her gaze to her lap, where her hands were playing with an old locket*. "I can't do anything else; at least that wouldn't spark hostilities or threaten the kingdom. This forces aren't to be reckoned with, we really don't want them as enemies," when Kristoff face seemed to comprehend she added, knowing he would listen, "I think I already have them as my personal enemies though."

His face scrunched in confusion, which prompted her to explain, "I openly challenged Jack Frost, twice, and I think I also challenged Mother Earth in a more indirect way;" the queen sighed, "either way, I think I didn't make them happy, because I took control of the situation instead of them," again her eyes fell on the locket. "I have something else to ask of you, Kristoff."

He looked up at her and stared into her eyes, just as she stared into his; she was so glad Anna had someone like him on her life, he would help her, "what is it?" he asked.

She showed him the locket, which was round and golden, with a beautiful red rose made of rubies embedded in the lid. Inside there was a small portrait of their mother, who owned the locket before Elsa did, "I want you to give her this," she handed Kristoff the beautiful jewel, "it belonged to our mother, and now I want her to have it."

He was honestly puzzled, "why don't you give it to her yourself?"

Elsa shrugged, thinking if it was wise to reveal what she wanted to do… she decided to do so after a few minutes in silence; after all, he would be all Anna would have for a while, "you have to promise you won't tell Anna anything about this conversation, until the day I'm gone," she said staring straight and serious into Kristoff eyes.

He, taken aback by the sudden change in mood, only nodded, a little curious and eager to know what the queen would tell him. "This is a jewel meant for queens; it was passed onto me when my mother died. Now I have to pass it on to her, but she doesn't know I'll name her queen," she started to explain, to be interrupted by a question.

"But why doesn't she know? It's obvious that if something were to happen for you to leave the throne, she's the next in line," he tried to piece two and two together.

Elsa smiled softly, "I wish she had your logic," she muttered softly, then shook her head, "I believe that in a way she knows, but if she were to admit it as a fact, she would already be assuming I'm going to leave. I guess she's just in denial, she hasn't accepted that soon I won't be queen anymore," she finished with a sigh.

Kristoff nodded in understanding and accepted the locket, twirling in his hand, "how soon?"

His question startled her, "pardon me?"

"How soon until you leave?" he repeated.

She thought for a second, "They told me they would pick me up in a week," she told him and he was about to sigh in relief when she added, "and that happened four days ago, which means I only have three days left."

Kristoff groaned, but couldn't bring himself to be annoyed, "why are you telling me all of this now?"

"Because the day before I leave I'll hold a public assembly and I wanted you to know, so that you can be there for Anna," she explained truthfully before rising from her seat. "I shall take my leave now, much paperwork still to be done," she joked but none of them laughed. Kristoff didn't reply, but instead just stared at the locket, apparently lost inside his thoughts, so she started to walk away. Before she reached very far, though, she turned around and called him. He was startled from his reverie, prompting Elsa to smile a real smile for the first time in days, and told him what she needed to say: "Thank you," and then she went back to her private alcove.

* * *

Two days later, the queen summoned her people for an urgent, public assembly that would be held in the courtyard of the palace. The queen stood on her balcony, back straight, shoulders squared and her face serene; just like she was taught. Next to her, a few steps behind, was Anna. She had her head bowed and was failing to conceal her distraught emotions, unlike Elsa who had learned how to do since she was very little.

When Elsa saw enough people standing before her, she deemed it proper to begin. "People of Arandell, I've got important news to share that concern us all," she began in a clear, loud voice, and everyone felt silent; even the buzz of a fly could be heard. As you all may have heard, a few weeks ago we received an unexpected visitor that caused outrage and confusion. It is in my place to tell you, that the words he spoke that day are the  _truth_ ," there was a collective, surprised gasp that erupted from the crowd, Elsa raised her hands to placate them and soon there was silence again, "therefore, I am here to announce my resignation to my rightful place on the throne of Arandell. I have had great pleasure in being your queen, and I surely regret not being able to stay further; this is done as a diplomatic act of peace towards Jack Frost, and in honor of a promise long made by my parents."

The crowd roared in anger and indignation; some of it was directed to the unknown and mysterious Frost, another part to the queen herself, and some was just randomly thrown at everything and everyone. This time, Queen Elsa had to make a greater effort to get her people calm enough to listen again. Her mask of concealment was doing its job right, for everyone failed to see the hurt reflected in her eyes.

"Don't let my leaving be a hindrance to your daily lives; the throne will not be left empty. In my place, Princess Anna of Arandell will rule when she comes of age and aided, for the time being, by advisors the same advisors who taught me," she grabbed Anna by the wrist and propelled her forward to stand right next to her. Anna's face was the portrait of surprise, before it turned into one of angry resignation; her eyes were puffy red and her cheeks were blushed, but she managed a poker face while her sister presented her as the new queen.  _As the new queen!_

Once that had been said, the queen turned to the scribe to confirm he had written everything for future accounts of that day; it was still a royal decree in some way or the other and Elsa would ensure it was followed. The people of Arandell weren't happy with this turn of events, but they'd have to deal with it; the most miserable of all, though, was Anna. Once they were out of the balcony and inside the castle once again, Elsa turned to leave. Anna gripped her wrist tight to stop her. The queen had to say she was surprised about her strength, but she didn't comment on it; instead, made her face unreadable.

Anna was scowling at her. " _Why?_ " she all but yelled; "why did you name  _me_  the next queen? Why didn't you consult with me,  _ask_  me if I even wanted this responsibility?!"

The queen didn't bulge nor flinch, but she answered with her most serene face, one that showed understanding but also unyielding will; "Arandell needs a ruler, and as next in line it is your  _duty_  to take the throne. The advisors have already been told, and they will start with the lessons as soon as I'm gone; that's what  _I've_  ordered. They will be a temporary authority while you can fully assume the throne when you come of age in a few years; they are dad's most trusted men, and mine as well," was her soft reply, trying to appear neutral and unbiased.

Anna's scowl deepened, "but I don't  _want_  to be queen!" she complained. Elsa inwardly thought she was being childish and ridiculous, throwing a tantrum just because she was honestly  _angry_  that Elsa would leave… which was completely understandable, given the circumstances, but that could not continue.

"No one asked  _me_  either," Elsa then replied to a fuming Anna, while freeing her hand from the princess's grip. "And still I assumed the responsibility because it was, and still is, my duty. As daughters of kings, we have many privileges that come together with things that we  _must_  do that are better for the  _common good_ , even if we don't always like it."

Anna's face contorted in anger, and her expression became much fiercer than it was with just a mere scowl, "is that why you're leaving, then? Because it's  _your duty_  to be unhappy, because the common good of your sacrifice will be… what, Elsa, what will be the common good of  _this_  sacrifice?" Anna yelled at her sister, surprising Elsa greatly. The queen had never, ever, heard Anna raise her voice like that, not even when she was coaxing her into leaving her room to play. Anna rarely got angry, especially at Elsa. "In fact," the princess continued, "what good will  _any_  of this bring? Have you thought of  _that_?"

Elsa swallowed, feeling as if Anna had stabbed a dagger deep into her soul. "You don't know what you're saying, Anna," the queen breathlessly tried to reply past the hurt she felt by her sister's words.

Anna wasn't done, though, "what I  _do_  know is that I don't want to be queen; I don't want to take  _your place_  in the throne, and I surely don't want you to  _leave_  me again! But you don't  _care_  about what I think, or  _feel_  for that matter; you don't care enough to ask my opinion on anything you do. The most important thing to you is keeping your duty and showing a pretty, controlled face in front to everyone," Anna kept saying, attacking her sister with hurtful words she didn't really feel, unloading some of her resentment and anger towards the  _wrong_  person. But at that moment, Anna also wasn't thinking; she wasn't seeing the pain in her sister's eyes, she wasn't considering if Elsa  _wanted_  to leave, if she had  _ever_  wanted any of this at all.

So, to avoid doing or saying something she'd regret, Elsa turned away and headed to her chambers, barely able to keep her emotions in check. It was one thing to hear hateful words from people, but from her  _sister_  it easily hurt tenfold. "Yes, turn your back on me, turn your back on everyone and runaway with  _Jack Frost_ ," Anna spat when she misinterpreted Elsa's retreat, which made the queen halt on her steps.

"Do you think I  _wanted_  this? Do you seriously believe that I want to  _leave_  my  _home_? I didn't ask him to come for me, Anna, you don't know anything about what you're saying… and what's worse is that you're not even trying," she replied in a low voice, not finding the strength to do anything else, while her eyes clouded with tears, her back towards her sister; "maybe I should've told you, but anyone would believe you already knew just because you are  _my sister_. No matter how much you want to escape this, Anna, some things just never change." Then she resumed her walk towards her chambers without waiting Anna's reply, sprinting away from the lonely hall where they had their first strong fight.

Once she was inside, she ordered the guards not to let  _anyone_  in and she locked the door. She paced her room, fighting to regain control over her swirling emotions, but failing.  _She's just angry; she doesn't want you to leave; she's afraid, being queen is too hard_ ; Elsa kept repeating in her head until she couldn't hold it in any longer. She cried, she froze a window, a pillow, a chair, and she cried before collapsing on her bed completely exhausted.

That was the last day she'd be in Arandell for a long while.

* * *

Just as Jack Frost promised, the next day he arrived in Arandell with Mother Earth. No one saw them arriving and no one would see them leave, because it couldn't be two hours after midnight and everyone was sound asleep. Commanding a very strong wind, Mother Earth burst open the window to Elsa's room, where they both found her fitfully asleep. The sound, though, startled her awake and she looked around her room to find the source of the noise. She couldn't see anything, and blindly she tried to reach for a candle to light. She never could, though, because from behind Jack Frost threw her a ball of golden sand, and before she knew what had happened, she was asleep again.

However, she wasn't the only one awakened by the noise in the queen's bedroom. There was a knock on the door. "My lady, is everything all right?" a male voice called, probably one of the guards. Jack Frost then wasted no second before slinging the limp queen across his shoulder, as if she were nothing more than a mere bag of potatoes. He was walking to the window to leave, but he didn't realize of Elsa's dangling arms, with which she managed to drop a very beautiful and seemingly expensive vase onto the floor, where it broke into a thousand of tiny little pieces; the sound it made didn't go unnoticed. Another apprehensive knock, but this time the princess's voice came from the other side of the door, "Elsa, are you okay? Can you please open this door?"

Thinking that the silence was unsettling, the guards probably alerted the princess, sister to the queen of Arandell. Jack Frost had only seen her once, when he went to court and he identified her because of the apprehensive looks the sisters shared from time to time. He had not planned on being caught, so he hurried to the window, where Mother Earth kept throwing impatient looks at him.

His plan was almost perfect, but the people outside the door were a little bit faster than he; the guards broke the door in time for Anna to see Jack Frost escape through the open window with her unconscious sister slack across his shoulder. "Elsa!" she yelled, but it was too late; the prince had disappeared into the night taking the queen of Arandell with him. She stood on the doorway for a long time looking at the empty room that belonged to her sister, before falling to her knees in disbelief and shock. Those moments would haunt the princess in her dreams for years, because the last time she saw her sister, she had been unconscious, when they had last talked, they had a fight, and what was even worse, neither got to say goodbye.

* * *

Jack arrived with Elsa to the Winter Palace near the South Pole a few hours later. He had waved goodbye to Mother Earth when they had flown over the equator, both of them satisfied with the success on their mission. It wasn't as if the queen didn't know they were coming; what was true, as well, was that they never specified how and at what time of the day they'd pick her up. Toothiana, the last warrior of the Sisters of the Flight, a feathered fairy with a kind heart, ever so faithful to Jack for reasons he couldn't comprehend, was waiting for him and saw the new arrival with a spark in her eyes.

"Is it her?" she asked, softly as not to wake her, while she marveled at the beauty of Elsa, the future  _Winter Queen_.

"Yes," an indifferent Jack Frost replied while dropping the unconscious lady into one cushion while he hung his cape in a hook on the wall. A servant, made of ice, then brought him a drink, which was so cold it had a tiny coat of ice on the surface;  _great, just as he liked it_ , "could you please take her to the room we prepared for her?" he asked her while settling down on a soft, velvet chair he had placed near a window and grabbed a book.

Tooth was surprised, "don't you want to be with her when she wakes up? She's probably going to be confused," she suggested and Jack huffed.

"That's not my problem; I flew all the way to Arandell and carried her back here. I think I've done enough," he replied while he opened the book and resumed reading where he had left it off the day before.

Tooth nodded silently, a thoughtful look on her face, before she ventured to ask, "are you sure this is what you  _want_ , Jack?"

He looked at her puzzled, "of course it is; there's no reason not to proceed."

She looked uneasily to the floor, "do you really want to get married?" she then rephrased her question, in case she had been ambiguous.

Jack snorted, "What's with you and all your silly questions tonight? You know the answers as well as I do," he replied and turned his back to her, before muttering in a very low voice, "you know as well as I do that what I  _want_  stopped being important a long, long time ago."

Knowing she wasn't going to get anything else from Jack, Tooth carried the queen to her chambers, where she slept the rest of the night and most of the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEFORE you hate me, I have to say that I know a lot of you might be upset about how things went between Anna and Elsa, but don't you worry, Anna will be just fine. This is not the last time she'll appear in the story; I have something bigger planned out hoping everything will run smoothly. NOW that I've explain myself, how did you like this chapter? Did you like it, hate it? Please, leave a review to give me your opinion because I really appreciate your comments. ALSO, regarding Mother Earth, I also believe that she left a bad first impression on you, but let me explain that later I will write more about her. She's not evil, but she's also not good; if you don't understand now, don't worry, later I hope to clear the waters around her a bit.
> 
> So this is another chapter that's gone by with a bit more of history and drama into it. I hope you liked it!!  
> Please leave a comment to tell me your opinions on it, and just so you know, I'm posting this story on FFnet, under the pen name of ClearEyes. It's an original plot and I hope you're enjoying it. You soon can expect more updates!!
> 
> Until we meet again,
> 
> SleepingSiren


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is pretty intense because there is a fight. There is a major display of powers from both, Elsa and Jack, and if you want to find out the outcome, feel free to read!!  
> Btw, I'm really sorry I'm taking so long to update on /this/ site hehe I kind of forget I do have an account, and when I remember I'm always in a hurry. To demonstrate how sorry I am, I'll upload twice today!!

Elsa woke up feeling drowsy and with a headache. It was like the first time she ever drank wine, and then she could barely stand the next day. The main difference, though, was that she could not remember drinking anything. The last thing she remembered was… was… what was the last thing she remembered? Oh, yes, Anna and the fight, the pain and the tears. She had to get up, apologize to her sister, say goodbye; Jack Frost would be arriving today with Mother Earth and she needed to be ready. She stretched on her bed, but she thought that the sheets were stiffer and colder; she also felt more breezes in the room, so she thought she had slept with her window open again. But wait, wasn't it still warm in Arandell? Why did she feel colder, then?

But then, as a flash, she remembered something else; it was like part of some strange dream. She was in her room, very late at night and very dark, and she was looking for something near her bed. Something she couldn't find but she knew she needed… a candle! Was that a dream? How else could she explain it? There had been also noises, ruffling and shuffling, weird noises that weren't meant to be there.

She opened her eyes slowly, only to close them again when the bright light blinded her. Her room didn't have such a bright light… She tried opening them again, to see above her a huge white ceiling that combed upwards. It was lined with beautifully crafted details of snowflakes, stripes that wanted to simulate the wind in a blizzard, so finely done that she had trouble believing her eyes. In the center of the ceiling hung a huge candelabrum with colored candles in it, candles that for some reason didn't bring Elsa any heat at all. The bed she was on was stiff, but the sheets were a beautiful lilac purple, with light blue and white patterns on it. There was a window on the far wall that reached from the ceiling to the floor with the clearest crystal she had ever seen. One thing was clear for sure: she was not in her room; in fact, she doubted she was even in Arandell.

She stood abruptly at that revelation and swayed on the spot, her vision swarming. She reached for one of the poles of the bed which she used to lean on. There she took deep breaths while the world stopped spinning.  _Where am I? This must be dreaming, that's it, I'm just dreaming_ , she repeated in her head over and over. Finally, a few minutes later she could open her eyes again and regain her straight posture; she could see better the dimensions of this strange room she was on. Next to her bed was a small bedside table with two slim drawers and on top of it was another candle, this time of a normal color. She neared to the wall to examine the crafting and, oh what a surprise, it was made entirely of ice! She would know, she made an ice castle herself! The furniture, though, didn't seem made from ice. It looked like wood, very fine and expensive, and she wondered just who couldn't have made such a thing.  _Jack Frost_ , a voice in her mind said and she gasped. She hoped against hope she wasn't where she thought she was…

Suddenly, a door she hadn't seed in parallel to her bed opened and in came what looked to be a lady, only ladies don't float a few feet above the ground, they don't have wings or multicolored feathers covering her bodies. Still, it was obvious that the creature was female. Elsa backed away, before squaring her shoulders and putting on her best mask.

"Oh, you're awake!" the lady exclaimed in a high pitched voice, "Good, the prince currently awaits you in the dining room," she then added with a soft, insecure smile.

The queen took a deep breath to stop from panicking, "where am I?" she asked in a demanding voice, not making any attempt of moving from her place.

The lady seemed positively surprised, "why, you're in the Winter Palace, of course," she said cheerfully, her voice raising another octave.

Elsa had to hold back her urge to gasp or do any indication of surprise or even outrage; she must always maintain her manners… even when she really wanted to kill someone right that moment.

"How did I get here?" Elsa asked again and again the lady looked surprise, which prompted the queen to explain, "I was in  _my_  chambers in  _my_  castle when I went to sleep last night, now I'm here, how?"

The lady paled considerably, "uh-oh, you don't… I mean, he said you'd… you mean to tell you didn't  _know_?!" she all but yelled, panicking. That made Elsa realized that, despite this lady apparently being familiar with the palace and the reason the queen was there, she didn't seem to know anything else.

And then, Elsa snapped.  _Damn manners, damn everything!_  "Where is the  _prince_?" she spat, surprising the lady. Said lady didn't reply, but pointed to a direction, and Elsa was soon to exit the room and follow it. She was angry; no, she was furious! How dare he?! How dare he do something like  _this_?! She didn't even stop to admire the beautiful sculptures in the castle, she didn't stop to watch the paintings or the crafting; she went straight to the so called dining room and she wasn't disappointed.

After a few twists and turns, following the general direction the lady had pointed to, and some encounters with dead ends too, she wound up before huge doors crafted, again, in solid ice. The door was adorned with beautiful snowflakes and curves, everything was extremely detailed, but again Elsa could care less. She opened them and inside she found a very, very long wooden table with beautiful dark blue velvet chairs. At the very end sat an indifferent Jack Frost, who was eating nonchalantly something that looked awfully delicious; Elsa paid it no mind.

While she walked, she thought; she understood then why she had a memory of her room in the dark. It had been  _them_ , sneaking in like thieves to  _steal_  her! After all her efforts, she would've thought they were civilized enough to use the front door, or a window at least, instead of resorting to stupid tricks. And now, having  _him_  in front of her, paying her no mind at all as if she wasn't anything but a mere wall, her blood boiled even more.

He was still dresses as she remembered, minus the cape, which she supposed he used for travelling only. She stormed up to him, stood right where she was sure he  _could_  see her, and pointed an accusatory finger at him, "you abducted me," she claimed, her voice strained from trying to keep it low.

Only  _then_  did Jack Frost looked up from his meal to stare, amused, at Elsa. "I hope you like the palace so far,  _my lady_ , I made Toothiana choose the best room we have  _just_  for you," he mocked and resumed his eating with a satisfied smirk. Elsa would have none of it, though; she slammed her hand on the table, freezing everything near  _Frost_.

"You abducted me!" she repeated, this time her voice did raise a little, which prompted the prince to frown.

"If I'm not mistaken, we agreed that I'd go for you a week later after out discussion; I never said when in the day or how," he retorted looking at his frozen food with childish curiosity. "Are you sure,  _my lady_ , that you want to use your magic against  _me_?" he then added and, with a flick of his wrist, unfroze his food and mirrored her attack by freezing her  _arm_  to the table.

Her face contorted in rage, and in one swift movement and a slight intervention of magic, her arm was free once again. She could feel his aura, but she didn't care. He wouldn't kill her because he _needed_  her, and she could use  _that_. "You sneaked into my palace in the dead of the night, you and Mother Earth, like thieves. You knocked me out somehow and  _stole_  me from my kingdom, and not even  _you_  can deny  _that_ ," she told him with a dead glare. If eyes could kill, Jack Frost would be no more, and such was the intensity of her glare.

Apparently, she had reached a sore spot, for Frost rose abruptly from the table and faced her with an unreadable face but annoyed eyes.

He lifted a finger, "you don't get to  _insult_  Mother Earth in my presence; you know  _nothing_  about her." He looked threatening, but something in her gut told Elsa he wouldn't really hurt her. She was right, as much as Jack could be detached and cold, he wasn't one in favor of hitting or physically abusing a woman. Not after what  _he_  went through, so many, many years ago…

This reaction also surprised Elsa; she would've thought he would have felt insulted because of what she called  _him_ , but no, he felt insulted because of what she called Mother Earth. She never thought Frost would be  _that_  kind of man, with the way he treated her and all. Still, those thought were pushed to the back of her mind when she realized  _why_  she was standing in front of him in the first place. The tension was thick; it could've been cut with a knife.

She decided, then, to give the boy a taste of his own medicine. She snorted, surprising the prince, "oh, and I don't want to know her. I wouldn't want to be acquaintances with someone who would backstab me the first opportunity she got," Elsa smartly retorted and watched with great satisfaction how Frost's face showed anger. She shouldn't have, but she did.  _Damn the consequences!_

His eyes narrowed dangerously, "it's because of her you're even  _alive_ ," he said in a dangerously low tone, but Elsa felt so outraged he had brought up her origins and her hand acted on its own accord; before she knew what was happening, the queen had slapped Frost across the cheek with a the sound bouncing around the icy walls of the dining room.

His eyes had widened in surprise; never, and I repeat,  _never_  had he been slapped by a woman, supernatural entity or not, and the entire irony of the situation made him snort in disbelief. She… did not expect that, and suddenly she felt a little scared; a sudden feeling of dread settling in her stomach.

Much to her surprise, though, the man just turned around and walked away. She would not make him lose his temper; she would not make him cross  _that_  line. But apparently, just like Anna had done the day before, she misinterpreted his retreat. She wasn't thinking straight, then, when she blasted ice on his blind spot, hitting him directly and sending him stumbling forward. That did it!

He turned with a glare, "you claim  _we_  backstab people, when you don't even honor the rules of an honest fight, what  _exactly_  is your aim?" His tone was surprisingly low, controlled, which denoted just how he felt with the situation. She would not win, not now, not ever.

She didn't reply, though, suddenly scared and acting on instinct. She blasted more and more ice, created spikes that she aimed at him, declaring a challenge. He wasn't amused, though, and the fight was short. Elsa kept trying to corner him, but his powers being superior to hers, he would always block the attack. The queen, who had never been properly trained in combat, much less in a magical one, could barely dodge when her attacks rebounded. Then Frost got pissed off.

When an oncoming wall of ice from Elsa was trying to pin Frost to the wall, he decided he had had enough. With a stomp of his food, the wall cracked in the middle and he stepped through it. With a broad, yet simple, move of his arms in her general direction, a very strong wind rose that sent the queen propelling backwards into a wall; there the ice deformed to bind her hands and keep her from moving.

Then Jack Frost approached her, but she refused to back down, so she kept glaring at him. She knew she was vulnerable, but she was betting her stakes on the fact that he  _needed_  her, and so he wouldn't  _harm_  her. "I usually do not engage in combat with women," he spoke calmly, controlled, detached and cold, "but you're really getting on my nerves. I could  _kill_  you, is that what you want? What's done, it's done. The deal was I would pick you up, and I did, and not even  _you_  can find a way around  _that_. You are going to stay here, whether you like it or not; no more games, no more tricks; this is a warning, so pay it mind,  _never_  again challenge my powers; next time, I might not be able to control them."

With that, he exited the room and left Elsa alone; when he was out of sight, the different ice formations he had made came undone and returned to the places they came from. The wall returned to have its beautiful designs; the floor was as smooth. Her doings had also being reabsorbed into the castle, leaving the place empty of evidence there had ever been a fight over there. Free of her bindings, Elsa fell to the floor in a heap when her knees failed to hold her; she massaged her sore wrists while glaring at the place where Frost had left, the adrenaline still pumping wildly in her system.

 _I'll never forget this, Frost; I will_ never  _forget this._

* * *

Jack Frost burst violently into his chambers, almost breaking the doors out of sheer force. How dare she?! She insulted Mother Earth, she  _slapped_  him across the face, then she  _challenged_  him to a duel she could not possibly win, what the heck was that girl  _thinking_? Nothing, if the way he finished the conversation was any indication. No one had ever managed to infuriate him as the queen had; he had always been proud of keeping control in tough situations. Not when his father decided it was fun to humiliate him publicly, not when Groundhog thought he was a weakling, not when half the court had turned their back on him because he was  _different_. He had always kept his control, his emotions at bay, until this infuriating woman had showed up.

A soft knock on his still opened doors told him Toothiana was there, and he sighed. Regardless what he said, she would still come in… He hadn't even finished the thought and he saw the feathered woman standing in front of him. He started pacing the floor, just to keep the feathered fairy from seeing his face; she would not leave, and so he glared at her after a few minutes.

"What now, Tooth?" he practically spat. She flinched, hurt clearly on her face. A part of him felt as if there should've been some kind of remorse, but his dominant part buried those feelings deep inside his soul.

She also overcame her emotions quickly, for soon she shot him a disapproving glare while looking sternly at him, "you never told me you practically  _kidnapped_  the poor girl," she accused and Jack Frost rolled his eyes in annoyance. Just how many times would he have to deal with  _that_  conversation?

"I did not  _kidnap_  her, you're all overreacting. I honestly never told her when and how I would pick her up, which means I used the very same method  _she_  used when she  _demanded_  proof from me," he retorted, still pacing and with a frown on his face, "it's only fair."

Tooth huffed, "have you stopped to think that she might have wanted to say goodbye to her family?" she asked him.  
"She had plenty of time; she had a  _week_ ," was his reply.

"And what about the fight in the dining room? You were supposed to  _welcome_  her here, to let her know that this would be her  _home_!" she exclaimed outraged, but Jack Frost snorted.

"So you were eavesdropping then," he commented, making the fairy blush madly.

"That's not what we're discussing right now," she avoided the question, "you probably just make her hate this place!"

His face changed, from a concerned frown to an offended look, "I am not the one who started the hostilities! She  _slapped_  me! I was going to walk away, just like  _you_  taught me, when she  _attacked_ me," he snorted again, not believing he had been outwitted and outsmarted  _twice_  by that  _queen_.

"You did mock her, tough," Tooth replied and Frost huffed.

"I mock everyone," he said.

"But she doesn't know that," the always rational Tooth said and Frost cursed in her head. To that he had no reply, so he went out to the balcony of his room and stared at the mostly deserted plains that extended before him. He was always marveled by the view, even after all those years. His peace and quiet didn't last though, for soon Toothiana was next to him.

"Haven't you considered being a little kinder to her? After all, she's human," she claimed but his face turned stony ice.

"Precisely because she's human I must stay cold," he replied, his eyes suddenly emotionless. The view became dull, the wind stopped being comforting, and he turned back into the room, the harshness of his reality hitting him full force.

"But you're going to  _marry_  her! If you want a stable relationship with her, you're doing it all wrong!" she exclaimed, following him back.

Frost sighed, "You know I'm not marrying her because I want to. I need to become king to reach my full potential and because I'm not immortal I need an heir; only a queen can give me that," he replied.

"You could've chosen from the immortals and save the girl all this conflict if that is your aim," she chastised and Jack groaned. Rarely did he feel exhausted, but that day was proving to be unending, so he plopped down in a cushion he had.

"You know perfectly well my father made sure every immortal woman available wouldn't get near me, he scared them all away. You know also that my last resort was to agree with Mother Earth all those years ago when she requested my magic to help humans, it was… is my last chance," Frost patience was wearing thin.

Tooth placed herself in the middle of his vision, making him roll his eyes, "have you ever thought of her dreams and aspirations?" she then asked, and Jack sighed.

"She would've died before accomplishing any of them, so I'm actually giving her something  _useful_  to do," he replied standing up, trying to avoid the fairy at all costs, "she should be grateful."

Tooth huffed and groaned in response, "Your father has been an  _awful_  influence in you, passing his unfounded stupid ideas to you."

Jack again rolled his eyes for the thousandth time in a day; "you know very well my father has nothing to do with the way I think about humans," he retorted, but Tooth would have none of it.

"Yes, he has!" she vehemently replied, "I've been with you ever since he took you in, and I can assure that being in his presence changed you. You used to be so kind, loving; full of energy, life and fun! And now you just seem like a shell of what you used to be," she remembered on a wistful tone.

"It's called growing up, Tooth, maybe you should try it," Jack replied with a definite eye-roll which effectively ended the conversation.

Tooth, deeply offended, squared her shoulders and made to leave the room. Before she exited, though she turned to the man she once perceived as  _her child_  and, with sad eyes, told him, "no Jack, you're wrong… it's called losing yourself." And then, silently, she exited the room closing the doors behind her, leaving Jack alone with his, for once troubled, thoughts.

He mulled over her words a little, before dismissing them as foolishness. The child she talked about had been lost a long time ago, after he realized that the world was cold and cruel to those who were kind and caring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here's the end of the chapter. Again, I tried to look a bit more into Jack's character, to understand a bit more why he's like that; mainly throwing hints so that you can try and develop your own theories. I know you didn't expect a fight like that, and I hope you don't find it out of place. I wanted since I first conceived this idea to have this confrontation of powers, in which Elsa is so pissed she just wants to get back at him, in this case by provoking him, and at first Jack was going to fight back and be smug and hateful. But you would've probably hated me for that, and also his character changed in my mind from then to now. And so, the Jack I now have in mind is unable to directly hit a woman, magic or no magic, but he couldn't allow her to keep attacking him. In a way, he did need to show that in his palace he makes the rules, and in the end he didn't hit her… much. That blast against the wall was necessary, I'm sorry.  
> I know I've opened a lot of questions and that there are little answers, but hopefully everything will come clean in due time. Remember that I'm human and I can make mistakes, although I did check this chapter before posting.   
> Until we meet again,  
> SleepingSiren


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, how can someone react after a fight like that? What can you do? Can you find any friends at all on the life you're being forced to live? Read to find out!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello beautiful people! Warnings: This is an eventful chapter. I hope you like it; I changed it a lot of times because, please, how does a woman react after a fight like that? I struggled a lot with that, I hope I got it right and I hope that it doesn't leave you upset. ENjOY!

Elsa eventually exited the dining room and headed back to her quarters, but she decided that she didn't want to stay locked up for the rest of the day. That would mean thinking of sad stuff that would most likely make her depressed, and so she walked this time examining the halls and walls she came across. The details were extremely beautiful, so different from the ones she did. And yet, they seemed somehow the same. She was also thinking about her recent confrontation with Jack Frost. She could tell he was not used to not being in control, and even when he didn't appear to her as someone particularly evil, she could feel he completely undermined her and despised her; if not her, her wits.

Once she had calmed a bit, she had to admit a few thing to herself, which she'd die before saying out loud. The fight had been started by her, she couldn't deny that, but he had finished it in less than a minute. She couldn't help but being impressed; his powers were too great to try to engage again against him, so another fight would be counterproductive. She decided then she would  _avoid_ the man; the less she saw him, the better. If he wanted to continue with the marriage, so be it, but she would never let him touch her. She could also try to  _sabotage_  him or something like that; she could think of something.

Then her thoughts took another unpleasant course: Anna. The last time she saw her they had fought badly. She had heard pretty hard stuff and replied with something not so nice. She didn't like it, especially not knowing if she'd ever see her again. She supposed she would, because so far Frost had kept two of the three things he had agreed to do. She also supposed that if she ever saw her sister again it wouldn't be in less than a year.

That made her heart ache; she had just started to build a beautiful relationship with her sister, after all her years in isolation, only to wound up in another isolated place and far away from her. She wondered how she was doing, what she was feeling. She was so glad she had had  _that_  chat with Kristoff; she had one less thing to worry about.

Along the hallways were a lot of vases, none of them made actually of ice. She then thought of the furniture she had seen so far, none of which had been of ice, but rather finely crafted wood. She wondered where it had come from when she came across the most peculiar sight; she saw many men shaped ice sculptures that were moving around a room, cleaning and doing the chores. They were completely devoid of emotion and soul, not like the snowman she created; these ones had been designed to be detached. They barely glanced at her and she retreated silently.

She explored the castle, which would soon somehow become her own, and she couldn't help but admire the architecture. At least that good thing would come of the marriage, right? The castle was extremely big, as if there had been a time when it actually housed people, or in this case supernatural entities. She wondered what had happened to make it look so… lonely. She came across a huge circular ballroom, which she guessed could be used to skate or dance. It was beautiful, but from the lack of marks on the floor she could tell it was rarely used. She snorted unconsciously, wondering if Anna had felt this when the gates were closed back in Arandell…

Arandell… gazing through a window she couldn't help but think about her home. Outside she saw a barren landscape of pure, white ice. It's not like it wasn't beautiful, but it just looked so empty. In her kingdom there had been beautiful gardens flourishing in spring, tall trees and rivers; everywhere you saw something that somehow warmed your heart. Completely opposite to this, really; she sighed. Then, she slipped on the ice a bit causing her to laugh; how could she slip on  _ice_!

Then, suddenly, she skated; and while she skated she remembered better times. Times when her little sister danced to music only they could hear with a snowman called Olaf that loved warm hugs. Times when she discovered the real way to control her powers; when she  _finally_  opened the gates and helped her sister skate, again as if the two were just two kids. She came to a stop when she felt something damp on her cheeks, and she realized she was crying. She laughed mirthlessly, wiping them.

"I'm sorry," called a female voice from the doorway and Elsa tuned abruptly, raising her hand in silent threat. Her surprise came when she saw the feathered lady from before standing there, looking apologetic and with her own hands raised in a pacific gesture. She was clearly holding a laugh, which made Elsa frown, but she lowered her hand.

"What are you apologizing for?" she said, and turned to the window again, not being in the mood to actually talk with  _her_ , or any acquaintance of Frost for that matter.

"Because I know Jack won't do it," she started, making Elsa turned around quickly, "and because I do not agree with what he did."

Elsa huffed, "it's not like you could've done anything to stop  _him_ , it would be a waste of effort and energy to hold a grudge against  _you_ ," she replied with a slight scowl, and she made to leave the room going past the lady.

"It's not his fault, you know," the lady continued, trying to grab Elsa's attention, "he wasn't always like this. He used to be kinder, someone who treated everyone amiably and with a huge smile on his face. But overtime he changed; he changed because  _his_  father always rejected him, and he changed for the worse."

Elsa halted, and without turning, she asked, "why are you telling me this?" If she was honest, she was a little mad that the lady had brought that up. Why should she care anyway if Jack Frost wasn't always cold? As far as Elsa was concerned it didn't matter if he didn't try to get better.

"Because I don't want you to hate him," the lady replied with a slight chuckle, "I know it's a lot to ask, but I would like for you to give him a chance."

At that, Elsa turned enraged to face the lady, who got startled and backed away a few feet, and with reason, "a chance to do what, exactly? A chance to mock me, insult me and degrade me? A chance to rid me of my humanity? Thank you very much, but I refuse," she retorted angrily and turned back again to leave.

"Then give  _me_ a chance," the lady retorted with a yell. "if you won't give  _him_  a chance then at least let  _me_  be your friend; no one really likes to be alone, even if you try your hardest to convince you so."

Elsa halted on her steps, weighing her options. One part of her didn't want to be friends with that feathered lady; she didn't want to be friends with anyone that had to do anything with Frost, who was responsible for her current unhappiness. The other part of her, the rational part, retorted saying that Elsa didn't want to be alone at all; that part knew that if she isolated herself like she had done so many years ago her situation wouldn't get any better. The lady seemed willing and kind, not at all like the cold Jack Frost (no pun intended) or the mighty Mother Earth; instead, the lady seemed like the opposite of both.

"What do you know about being alone?" she finally asked in no more than a whisper.

The lady chuckled softly, "oh, dear, you have no idea," she said, with an inviting smile hoping to coax Elsa into befriending her. She extended a small hand towards the queen, "my name is Toothiana, I'm the last fairy queen of the Sisters of the Flight but you can call me Tooth; nice to meet you."

Elsa turned and looked at the feathered lady intently with narrowed eyes. She'd never know what did it; maybe it was the smile, the warmth she missed so much, the honesty in the eyes of the fairy, but in the end she sighed. The queen extended a hesitant hand and took Tooth's with a small shake, "I'm Queen Elsa of Arandell, nice to meet you too."

In the end, she allowed herself a small, shy smile.

* * *

The days passed. As it turned out, Elsa needed the company of the fairy. She might never admit it out loud, but the only thing keeping her sane was Tooth's constant chatter and fluttering. She found it strangely invigorating; the fairy had unbelievable energy and vitality that was undeniably contagious. She discovered that the fairy Toothiana was, indeed, the last of her kind; and yet, she was the warmest, kindest and most compassionate being she had ever the pleasure to meet. It didn't take long for them to become close friends; apparently, Tooth had been born  _talking_.

Elsa rarely saw Jack Frost, and she had a hunch that he was avoiding her as much as she avoided him, although she could be wrong. The few times she had seen him; he was flying away from the ice palace or returning to it. And in all those few times, he was never smiling, always scowling and sometimes frowning. He looked really unhappy, and Elsa doubted it was entirely her fault. Not only was she to marry the king of brats, but also an unhappy one that didn't have a high opinion on her at all. In fact, she believed he treasured the ice servants more than he cared about her.

Elsa made sure to avoid going back to the dining room, not wanting to come across Frost. Tooth knew that and so they usually ate together in one of their rooms; and it was on one of these occasions, in Elsa's room, when Frost suddenly arrived at the door. He knocked loudly, surprising the queen, and after she had replied the prince had walked into the room, surprising Tooth. The queen, a bit panicked, turned to look at the fairy for help, but she received an equally panicked glance.

Elsa stood up, squared her shoulder, and put her best stance to receive whatever Jack Frost wanted. She even bowed, mockingly, to which the prince scowled visibly. "Can you leave us alone, Toothiana?" he asked the fairy without looking away from Elsa's gaze; they had engaged in a much more pacific duel, but that didn't mean he was going to lose.

"But-" the fairy started to protest, when she was interrupted rather rudely by Jack.

"Now," he said firmly. The fairy jumped, her face became red in indignation while her feathers stood on end and her wings picked up speed. Without another word, she exited the room and closed the door with a loud bang.

For a while, both monarchs stood unmoving staring at each other. When the silence had extended for too long, Elsa spoke up.

"What have you come here for?" she said, deliberately forgetting to add ' _my lord_ ' or any other sign that showed some kind of respect towards the man in front of her. Jack Frost raised an eyebrow.

"Is that any way of speaking to the master and prince of the palace you currently inhabit?" he asked, obviously amused at her antics.

The queen raised her chin, "well, it's not like I wanted," she retorted and the prince snorted.

He waved his hand in a dismissive manner as he started to pace, "whatever," he said smugly, "I just came to deliver some  _news_ ," Elsa didn't like the way he said that word. "The Winter Solstice will occur in exactly one month and two weeks, and you have been chosen to plan the banquet."

Elsa's jaw  _almost_  slacked, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. "And what makes you think I'll do it? As far as I'm concerned, if you want a banquet, you are to be the one to plan it."

"Because,  _my dear_ ," Jack Frost replied with the smirk she hated so much, "we have a deal.  _And_  because you wouldn't want the winter in Arandell to last an extra month, right?" he said and Elsa paled considerably.

"You wouldn't," she said in a tight voice.

"Oh, really? Is that a challenge?" he asked rhetorically, looking at his nails with a completely smug and victorious look.

"It was one of my demands; you are not to harm my people in any way," she replied, her voice shaking a bit with uncertainty.

"And yet we managed to bring you here and you didn't even noticed," he commented nonchalantly, rubbing salt in an already open wound, "besides, as I said we have a deal. You do your part of the deal and I do mine, as simple as that. You should know that, after all, it the way business works, am I right?"

Elsa took a sharp breath, face contorting with a scowl, but she had no choice yet again but to accept, "fine, I'll do it."

"Perfect," the prince then chirpily replied, "I knew you'd agree,  _dear_. I'll send you with Toothiana the requirements for the banquet; I expect everything will be  _perfect_."

He then bowed mockingly, knowing he had been the winner of that particular banter, and left the room walking twice as smugly as when he entered. Once the door was closed, Elsa groaned and froze a pillow out of sheer anger. And she knew, in that moment, that she  _hated_  him!

* * *

Elsa was fuming. To say so was an actual understatement. The fairy had been trying to calm the princess down for well over two hours and to no avail. Elsa was just so enraged! He had no right! As much as she  _had_  to marry him, he couldn't resort to bribe her whenever he wanted, knowing she'd die before letting anything happen to her home. He was a rat, he knew she cared and he took advantage of it… but it wouldn't be left unpunished, she would get back at him, even if it was the last thing she ever did.

And so, a few days later, and trying to help Elsa with a small, fun distraction, they went out for a stroll into the plains. Toothiana said Frost didn't know, so that they were sneaking out, and the queen couldn't help but feel the excitement of doing something behind someone else's back. Besides, if it would spite the prince later, she'd gladly do it now. And so, Elsa was wearing a comfortable outfit that consisted in some worn pants with beautiful snowflake patterns and a long light blue tunic. She had her hair braided towards the back, a small, lilac, waving cape to keep her warm and flat shoes. If they found a nice place to skate, she could easily turn them into skates precisely because their design was simple. Tooth had prepared a basket with food so they could eat something later, and without much hesitation they left the Winter Palace's grounds. Immediately, Elsa forgot her problems. It had been so long, or so it felt, since she had felt the cold air and the chilly breeze. She smiled, her cheeks turning rosy and her eyes shining with uncontained mirth. Toothiana perceived this change but didn't comment on it; instead she let the queen have her fun, for it looked like she needed it.

They started racing, without saying anything. Tooth was flying a few feet above the ground, as always, and Elsa passed her with a few quick steps. By the way, she was gliding on ice, having transformed her flat shoes in skates with a flick of her wrist, so that her feet wouldn't sink into the snow. The queen threw a challenging glance towards the fairy, thing that didn't go unnoticed by her, and so the race started. Elsa gliding on ice she created, doing so gracefully; Tooth flying as hard as she could, her wings almost invisible.

Once, the fairy decided to do some flips in the air, to which Elsa responded with a snort, "Show off," the queen declared, making Tooth giggle. To compensate for her lack of wings, though, was Elsa's talent on the ice. She expanded the ice with a movement of her arms and, when the fairy least expected it, the queen made a perfect toe loop. She winked at Toothiana when she finished and the fairy couldn't help a laugh.

They went on for at least an hour, until they deemed it proper to rest. Both were panting, and Elsa's legs were aching because it had been a long, very long time since she skated like that. Not like she didn't like it, but the pain would stay with her for days. They found a place that Tooth considered prettier than any other, for Elsa everything looked the same in that barren environment, and so they extended a blanket and sat down to eat what they had brought. It was then, sitting, when Elsa realized that as barren as the landscape was, it was still very beautiful. The snow glittered like jewels, and it reflected the sunlight beautifully.

"Yesterday," the queen started, "when Frost came into the room, he…  _asked_  me, although threatening would be a more accurate word, to plan the wedding banquet," she said to a listening Tooth.

The fairy had been trying to coax the information out of her since she had returned to the room with her the day before, but Elsa had been so enraged that Tooth barely understood what the real problem was, even when she suspected it, "I imagined as much," she replied with a small smile.

Elsa's eyes widened in disbelief and faked astonishment, "and what is  _that_  supposed to mean?"

Tooth laughed, her melodious voice resounding all throughout the clearing, "you never get so worked up unless it's about your hometown or your sister," the fairy explained when she stopped to take a breath. Elsa rolled her eyes, "so what are you going to do?"

Elsa shrugged and looked to the ground, "I don't know; I mean, any woman in my place would be thrilled, jumping up and down at the prospect of planning their wedding… but I'm not, and I can't help but dread that day," it was the first time she spoke to Tooth about her  _real_  feelings towards the whole matter.

Tooth looked down, sadly, "I'm sorry," she apologized like the day she met her.

The queen shook her head, "it's not you who should be apologizing," she replied.

But the fairy didn't bulge, "I'm not sure, maybe it is," at this, Elsa was puzzled but she listened anyway, Tooth sighed, "I've always felt like I could've done  _something_ , anything to protect  _him_. He was only a child, and I failed him."

"What do you mean Tooth?" Elsa asked feeling slightly alarmed.

The fairy sighed again, "it's not my story to tell, but when Jack arrived he was very small; a shy child that was only afraid and who had been through so much. And yet he was always smiling, fooling around, having  _fun_ ; until his father changed him."

Now Elsa was surprised; she had just assumed Frost had always been a stupid brat, but to hear he hadn't always been like  _that_  came as a shock. She honestly couldn't imagine a kind, warm, dork Jack Frost as much as she tried; and even if he had been to hell and back she was not going to forgive him for everything he had done. Still, she felt compelled to ask, "who's his father?"

Toothiana shook her head, "I really shouldn't be speaking of this with you; it's really personal," the fairy said remorsefully and avoided the question altogether. They kept quiet a few minutes, Tooth lost in her memories while Elsa in her thoughts, still trying to conceive the impossible idea of a  _kind_  Jack Frost.

Suddenly, the wind rose and said man appeared with his cloak, staff and a very angry scowl; he didn't look at Elsa, didn't even acknowledge her, and went straight to Tooth, "why did you leave the palace?" he asked curtly.

Tooth stuttered, surprised and feeling a little guilty she had been talking about him; in her mind she wondered if he had listened to anything they had said, "I-I-I wanted to help Elsa, and it didn't seem like a bad idea."

Jack Frost turned around sharply, as if scouting his surroundings from some possible danger, "it's not safe; pack everything up, we're going back to the palace."

Elsa could see his contained anger in his eyes, but also some kind of alertness that made a chill run down the queen's spine, a chill that had nothing to do with the cold. And so, when Tooth started putting the things in the basket they had brought, she helped her without a word, stealing glances from the prince who was a few feet away. Then she noticed that he was holding his staff in a defensive stance, as if expecting an attack. He wasn't that wrong…

The ground suddenly shook hard; so hard, that the queen lost her balance and fell into the ice. She looked at Tooth, who suddenly looked nervous but got into a fighting stance in front of Elsa, shielding her with her body. Frost also had adopted a fighting stance, with his staff pointing to a point in the distance. The queen stood up again and raised her own arms, willing her powers to come forth but keeping them at bay while she waited for the right moment; if only she knew  _when_  the right moment was.

She didn't have to wait long though; soon she saw the snow moving in the distance at a fast rate. She thought it was her eyes deceiving her, but when the ground shook again she knew she wasn't. Suddenly, in front of their little party, the snow exploded upwards and from a huge hole appeared a huge beast.

The queen had to suppress a horrified gasp. The beast was hideous; it had very thick fur, ideal for the weather but it also looked as if it emulated spikes, to defend itself or to attack. It was wide and tall, with a huge jaw full of pointy teeth; it walked in four enormous, muscular paws that finished with very sharp and long claws that looked as if made of ice. Elsa could compare it with a bear; a very big and deformed bear of sorts that somehow had been stripped of its nature. To top it all, it had a long tail where the fur really became spikes; it was its weapon.

It threw its head back and sniffed the air, and then turned to look at the group before it. Its black eyes got fixated in Elsa and she gulped; she was in trouble. That's the moment Frost chose to speak.

"Tooth, take the queen back to the castle," he said in a low voice, never taking away his eyes from the beast.

"I won't leave you alone to fight that  _thing_ ," she spat as her reply and Frost groaned audibly.

"Do as I say, it's not  _you_  I'm worried about," he replied and threw a quick glance at Elsa that didn't go unnoticed.

And she didn't like it at all. "What, you think I can't defend myself?" she asked challenging and Frost turned his unamused gaze towards her.

He huffed, smirking wryly with tight lips that showed how stressed he really felt, " _you_  have no idea on  _how_  to fight that thing. You are going to get hurt, you can even die; the issue is not that you can't protect yourself, which you actually can't, but that  _it_  came here  _haunting_ you," he explained as fast as he could, making Elsa purse her lips and frown.

"Oh, so you  _do_  think I can't fight," she retorted and Jack had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. The beast had gotten tired of their banter and had decided to strike; for a beast that size, it moved really  _fast_. It moved its paw in an arch above his body and brought it down right on the spot where Elsa was; because she was too concentrated on Jack Frost, she saw it a little too late. The queen was about to become beast food…

…had Frost not intercepted the attack with its staff, from where he expelled a huge blast of ice that sent the beast tumbling backwards; "now you understand what I mean? Stop being so stubborn and go back to the palace with Toothiana," he ordered, leaving no room for argument.

But Elsa was never one to follow orders, especially from people she disliked; "why is that thing  _haunting_  me? Did you bring it here?" she accused, thinking that maybe it was his way of trying to demonstrate her that she was, indeed,  _weak_. Well, she was not and she would not leave.

But Jack Frost snorted mirthlessly, "as if," he replied and moved to block another incoming attack from the huge beast, which was growing restless the more it couldn't reach its target. "Tooth, get her out of here!"

The fairy grabbed Elsa's arm and tried to drag her away, but the stubborn queen wanted answers and, if she was honest with herself, she wanted to spite the prince. Although it was kind of stupid to do so in the current situation, she firmly believed she could handle herself. In a few moments she'd discover how wrong she was; "then why is it here?  _Who_  sent it?"

Frost took a few moments to answer, debating if he should or should not answer the question while trying to cage the beast with ice. It was growing harder because every time he made a pillar, it made sure to smash it. It was a good distraction though, even if it wouldn't hold for long. Then, after a few minutes of effort and silence, he finally answered, "my father."

Elsa was puzzled, but before she could retort something, the tail of the beast had found its way around Jack's ice barriers and it was going to hit her. She was not distracted this time and she could dodge; Tooth, who had been observing the beast intently while planning a good attack, and listening to the banter of those two, then decided to take off and started to fly around the beast faster than Elsa had ever seen her. She targeted its eyes, so that it wouldn't see where the queen was, but it was, as always, easier said than done. Tooth was going to have her hands full for a while, for she needed to watch out for the spikes and the claws that wanted to bring her down.

Jack pursed her lips; he had told Toothiana to take the queen away, but instead she had joined in the fight. Why, oh why, would she do that? He wasn't in danger, the fairy wasn't in danger, the one his father wanted death was the human queen! In fact, by being there both ladies, he was more distracted and unfocused, and thus couldn't control the beast as he wanted. He could see the queen because she had moved from behind him when the tail hurled her way. She had a grimace on her face and a frown of concentration; her hands were raised as she made a huge wall of ice and threw it against the beast. Jack knew she wasn't trained on fighting, and the queen would need to do a lot more if she wanted the slightest chance at defeating the beast.

Too late to retreat, there was no other choice but to engage in a full fight, and as a strategist, Jack stopped trying to cage the beast from the land and he took off into the air, where he floated and planned, "Tooth, keep him distracted as you're doing, don't let him see anything else," he ordered and even when the fairy didn't reply he knew she had heard him. "You," he pointed to Elsa, "if you want to fight then at least do it right; try to freeze its paws to the ground with the thickest ice you can form. When you done with the four paws move on to the tail."

The queen set out to do what Frost told her, deciding to trust him because now she really didn't have  _that_  much of a choice. Elsa realized that he knew what he was doing when she read his strategy: distract it, immobilize it and, finally, cage it. The brat was smart; she had to give him that, for it was a wise strategy. The beast was suddenly overwhelmed, its attention being pulled towards too many directions, and its movements turned sloppy. It couldn't decide whether to attack the nuisance on its eyes, the pillars around it or the queen currently freezing its limbs.

So far, it seemed that the strategy was working; Elsa made ice crawl up to the shoulder blades of the beast and up its hind legs until the ice reached the spot where the tail started, and she had been adding layer after layer of ice. It was now as thick as the thinnest wall of the castle, and that was something. Still, she had never had to use her power to that extent, not even when she had to defend herself from the men who wanted to kill her in her castle, and she could feel her force dwindling. She was sweating profusely, even in the cold, and her breath came in labored. Her knees felt weak and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold it much longer and she still had to freeze the tail.

Frost, in the meantime, had been raising very thick pillars in a circular shape around the monster. He made them really thick, with many layers, even thicker than the palace walls so that not even the claws of it would be able to break it. Now that there were no paws breaking them every few seconds, the cage was taking its shape. He looked at the queen and saw her body about to give in to exhaustion, so he hurried to finish the icy prison. It was easy for him, having been trained to know how to control his powers and, along the way, to fight them. It had been  _years_  of constant training before he could build something as great without breaking a sweat; the queen, on the other hand, had the least resistant and her body was  _weak_. Princesses weren't trained on combat, especially the future queen who had to learn more about diplomacy and court.  _But she wanted to fight, right?_

"You can stop now," he told her and she practically collapsed on her knees. In a few more minutes the cage was finished and the beast was completely immobilized, with the only exception of the tail. "You can stop too, Tooth," he told the fairy who immediately went towards him with a huge smile on her face, being them the victorious team. Jack, though, didn't return her happy expression and instead shot her a warning glare. They were going to talk about this  _later_ , and she would have an earful of his scolding. She grimaced just by thinking about it. He motioned with his head to go help the queen, and in seconds she was already helping the queen to stand up shakily.

The queen had never been so tired in her entire life; her head was swimming and she couldn't focus her gaze. She felt the delicate arms of Tooth helping her up and she leaned on her. She could barely stand, let alone walk. She would be so sorry in the morning…

Jack had been distracted just one second, thinking he needed to go to his father as soon as possible to fix what he tried to do and also of where he could hide his father's  _little_  pet when he saw something move to the side. That blasted tail! As if in slow motion, he saw it move fast towards the queen and fairy, who were currently too engrossed in their own business to notice.  _Never let your guard down, how could I have been so stupid!?_  He scolded himself while he threw a shield from his place in the air. "Look out!" he yelled when he realized that the distance between Jack and the ladies was greater than the distance between the beast's tail and them and that the shield might arrive a little too late.

Elsa felt Tooth stiffen and heard her gasp, her vision was still unfocused; just a few seconds ago she thought she heard Frost throw a warning. Before she could fully process it though, she felt something big collide with her side; suddenly her feet weren't on the ground any longer, her face slammed with the ice of the floor, and it hurt really badly where she felt the collision. She felt her consciousness fading, even when she didn't know if it had been the exhaustion, the impact or a little bit of both, and the last thing she heard was Frost cursing and Tooth calling her name urgently. Then she welcomed the blissful darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay… so… don't kill me, that is all I can really say. On this chapter I added even more drama, and I'm introducing this new character that is Jack Frost's father who will be finally revealed in the following chapters. I know you might hate me for the cliffhanger, but I promise I won't take as long to update as the last time.  
> And so it ends another chapter, a really long one, that I hope pleased everyone in one way or another. Thank you for all the support, to those who favorite, to those who follow and to those who read and I don't know your names; please let me know what were your thoughts on this chapter and on this turn of events that I'm pretty sure left more than one chewing on their nails (at least that's what I was rooting for).  
> Also, as a friendly reminder, this original plot is also being uploaded more regularly into FFnet under my pen name of ClearEyes. I also have a Tumblr account (that's not a reminder, that something new hehehe) which is ClearEyes95 and there I notify when the new chapters are up.  
> Until we meet again,  
> Sleeping Siren


	10. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the long time it took me to update. Really, I am; I'm just new to this site and sometimes forget about it. On this chapter we meet a villain, the actual antagonist of the story, as well as a small glimpse of Jack's past and personal history. I hope you find it to your liking, in a bit I'll reply to all the comments!!

Jack Frost took a deep breath while he pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. That  _must_  have hurt; and not only that, now  _he_  had to clean the mess. Jack had frozen the gaps between the bars of the cage, creating a crystalized structure that held the beast inside, tail and all; of course, the damage was already done. He floated down from the ground to where Tooth was kneeling and worrying next to an unconscious queen. Tooth had been spared from the tail, although Jack didn't know if that had been deliberate or accidental; it could also be the fact that on the last second possible, the fairy's instincts kicked in and her wings propelled her backwards.

"When I tell you to  _do_  something, Tooth," he started, "please  _do_  as I say! You know I don't say things  _without_ a reason, although our feisty queen might disagree on that," he reprimanded the fairy, who looked guilty and on the verge of tears.

"Why was that thing here? Why did  _he_  send it?" she all but yelled, desperately trying to wake Elsa up.

The prince knelt down and started to inspect the damage; she had obviously one or two broken ribs, her head was bruised and a thin line of blood trickled from her forehead and stopped on her cheek. It was a pretty deep gash, and she would need stitches. He went further down to the legs, where her ankle was bent in an unnatural position. "She needs medical attention; go to the North Pole and tell Nicholas to come here in an urgent matter, but  _don't_  give any details," he ordered the fairy who turned her puzzled gaze and fixed him in his.

"But-" she started to complain, wanting to stay with the queen and make sure she'd be alright.

"Tooth, I'm not asking your opinion; go now, I'll get her back to the palace," he ordered again, his voice firmer. She'd listen to his full rant, of course, but first there were more pressing matters. The fairy knew it was completely futile to argue with Jack, he could be as stubborn as a goat. So with a resigned sigh, she took flight to the North Pole; she'd need to fly really fast, she had to practically fly around the world.

And then Jack was alone with Elsa; a broken and unconscious queen that didn't know better than to argue with him. And now she was hurt, badly. He would've never called for Nicholas if he could avoid it, but this time it was necessary. Maybe his father was right… No, don't go there.

Speaking of his father, he would need to go to his palace on top of Mt. Everest and tell him about the confinement of his pet. Jack Frost would die before he handed it back, especially if  _his daddy_  would keep trying to murder who would become his bride. Well, of course, what did he expect? His father lived to make his life harder, always had and always would… But he'd have to take care of that later.

He scooped up Elsa as softly as he could, not wanting to hurt her more than what she already was, and he commanded the air to take them back softly and fast. That was a difficult task, but eventually the wind could find its pace. And still it took a little over an hour to reach the Winter Palace. Once they'd arrived, Jack took the unconscious queen to her room where he hardened the bed with a smooth layer of ice and placed her on top. The least she needed was a soft bed that would bend her already broken body in an even more awkward position.

He didn't stay long, tough, for he soon exited the palace once again and returned to the site of the attack to properly take care of his father's  _pet_.

* * *

Tooth flew faster than she had in a long time. The last time she could remember flying that fast was when she found out Jack had been attacked and that Nicholas was tending to his wounds. Pretty much something like this situation, which made her blood boil with anger. How dare  _he_  attack a completely innocent human girl like that? It wasn't the first time he had taken violent measures to rid himself of what he perceived as an obstacle, Jack being on the receiving end once. That only made her wings move faster.

Sooner than she expected, the village known as Santoff Claussen came into view and so did the workshop where Nicholas St. North usually spent his days. She didn't even knock and just burst inside through an open window, surprising the yetis working there. She flew throughout the workshop until she arrived at the personal work place of Nicholas; she opened the door without hesitation.

Said man had been happily crafting a beautiful ice sculpture of winged horses as a prototype for a toy he wanted to build. He had been thoroughly sketching the details in a piece of paper during the morning, and when he deemed it proper he finally had chunked a huge block of ice to start sculpting. He had just finished with the last feather, and he made if fly with a small amount of magic. It was  _beautiful_! He loved making toys, and while he watched it fly he grabbed and started munching a cookie. That was until the door slammed open with a loud bang, colliding with the winged horse, breaking it and sending the pieces to the floor.

North let out a surprised exclamation, one that an overly feminine voice replied with another, but he wasn't focusing on that. His beautiful work that had taken over half a day to make now was broken in pieces on the floor. Perhaps he should've paid attention to the female voice, because then he would've known better than to put on an angry frown; too late though. He turned around, to face the  _intruder_ , "how many times have I…?"

But what he saw wasn't a yeti; what he saw actually made his jaw slack. In front of him stood a very red in the face, panting and on the verge of tears Tooth Fairy who looked like she could use a hug. "Nicholas," she breathed, still trying to recover her breath.

"Tooth," he replied, still stunned, "come in, come in; sit down, do you want something to drink?"

The fairy hadn't gotten her breath back just yet, so she complied and sat on the chair Nicholas was offering her. Quickly, he scrambled to a corner on his studio and poured a big glass of water that he handed to Toothiana. The fairy took it gratefully and drank its contents greedily; while she was at it, Nicholas pulled the chair from behind the desk and placed it next to the tired fairy and waited for her.

"Thanks," she said once she had finished the water in the glass and placed it, now empty, on the desk.

"What happened Tooth?" Nicholas finally dared to ask, worry shining in his eyes. She turned to look, the relief present but also a sense of urgency that made North's hairs stand on end.

"I need you to come to the Winter Court, there's been an emergency that needs  _urgent_  treatment," she declared, grabbing the big hands of North and leaving no room for argument. In less than ten minutes, they were on their way in Santa's sleigh.

* * *

When Elsa came to, the first thing she noticed was that she was no longer outside. The bright light that bothered her came directly from the ceiling in her room at the Winter Palace. How had she gotten there, was a mystery. The last thing she remembered was pain, lots of it, and the fight that took place beforehand against an angry beast that wanted to kill her. The next thing she perceived was a foul smell coming from somewhere directly in front of her; when she tried to move away from it a wave of pain overcame her and she groaned.

"She's waking up," she heard a man with a unique accent say to her right. She then deduced that the smell was there on purpose to  _wake_  her up. She tried to open her eyes, but the blinding white light was blinding and it brought an acute headache, so she closed her eyes again. "Easy girl," the man now told  _her_  and not whoever else was in the room with them, "you are injured badly and you hit your head."

She had to resist the urge to retort something like 'you don't say', but decided against it. Instead, she focused on trying to open her eyes slowly so that the light wouldn't hurt as much. Finally, after a few minutes of battling with her eyelids, she could keep her eyes open; the light still bothered her but she could manage. It was then that she saw a very big man standing right in front of her, with a black beard that had strakes of white in it that revealed he was older than he looked. Next to her and across from the mysterious man with the unique accent, which she believed was Russian or something of the sort, was Toothiana holding her hand tightly, tears brimming on her beautiful amethyst eyes. On the far corner of the room, looking out the window stood an apparently indifferent Jack Frost with his shoulders and brow tense. He was angry, most likely at her, and she'd have to listen to the scolding; for once, though, she thought he was  _right_. She was never ready to use her powers like that, which left her exhausted and open to a potential attack that  _did_  happen. Yes, she should've known better; of course, she'd never admit it out loud.

"How are you feeling?" her attention was brought back to the man when he asked.

"Not good," she croaked with her voice raspy, and she found her tongue felt heavier than usual which made speaking sound funny. The man muttered concussion and wrote something down in a piece of paper. Elsa tried to shift positions and had to stifle a yelp of pain when she moved the slightest bit.

"Don't move dear," Tooth said, "you bruised your ribs, and one of them broke as did your ankle. The exertion your body made will also make your muscles feel sore for a while," the fairy explained tightening her grip on Elsa's hand. The queen groaned, annoyed and in pain.

Then the man spoke to her again, "you have to stay awake for at least four hours," he ordered while he moved a finger in front of her eyes, checking her pupil reflexes. They were fine, "you're going to be just fine as long as you follow the indications I gave Toothiana and Jack; you need to change the bandages on your torso every two days, let Tooth help you, and you must not walk too much as long as you have the cast on your leg. You have stitches on your forehead and you can apply this salve," he motioned to a small vial on his hand that had something green-y inside, "so that it doesn't scar."

Elsa had a bit of trouble following his words, but she nodded nonetheless, "thank you… em…" she struggled to find an appropriate way to call the man; he didn't look like a doctor, at least none like those in Arandell.

"North; Nicholas St. North at your service," the man introduced and the queen nodding.

"Elsa," was her soft reply, still shocked about the feeling on her mouth that was slowly, very much so, diminishing.

The man smiled widely, making the corners of his eyes wrinkle, "you may also take this potion," he said motioning to another vial that had what looked like purple liquid inside, "it's magical, it will help with the pain and the healing; make sure you only take one per day because it can cause not-so-pleasant side effects if abused," he finished his explanation uncorking quite dramatically the vial and handing it to the queen.

She took it gingerly and turned to look at Tooth, who shot her a look of encouragement, and then she downed it in one go. To her surprise, it wasn't as bitter as she'd expect… if she'd have to guess, she'd say that it tasted a bit like vanilla. The effect was almost immediate; her head stopped the dull throbbing she had been feeling since waking up, her chest didn't hurt every time she took a breath, her ankle stopped pulsating and she felt, overall, better. She smiled softly, feeling also how the funny feeling in her tongue disappearing completely and a sudden sense of alertness she lacked before.

"Can you please leave us?" Jack Frost, who had been quiet as a rock and still as a statue, finally spoke.

Tooth was the one to reply, "Jack, I don't believe Elsa is any condition to-"

"I said  _leave us_ ," he repeated, clearly pissed. She wasn't going to back down and she wasn't going to leave, but a gentle squeeze on her hand brought her attention back to Elsa.

"It's okay, I can handle it," she said with a soft smile that did little to reassure the fairy.

North then placed a hand on Toothiana's shoulder and guided her towards the door; she exited first, and before the door closed Nicholas turned with a warning on his eyes, "don't upset her, she needs rest." Then they closed the door and left the two ice masters in the room; Elsa was going to speak up but Frost didn't give her any chance.

"I believe you're satisfied now, aren't you?" he asked softly, his tone calm even when underneath he wanted to pull at his hair and yell at the stupidity of the queen, "you used your powers to the point of exhaustion where you  _almost collapsed_. You would've done it anyway, but the beast decided to deal with it sooner. Now, you're injured and you could've died had you not had  _my_  help; and all because you chose to pick a fight and not listen to what I said, even when you  _saw_  what was coming. You insisted on fighting and now you're here; needless to say that was reckless and foolish," he finished with his still controlled tone that contained the prince's anger.

The queen knew all that, she knew she should've known better and be more rational, even if it meant doing what the brat told her; she knew it and she didn't need to be reminded of it, but because she was wrong and she had to  _admit_  when she was, she bowed her head slightly, "I'm sorry, I know I did wrong," she simply said grudgingly.

The prince, instead of mocking her like he usually did, pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, as was his habit when thinking about something serious and important. He looked like a father scolding his child; "despite my love for mockery, this should teach you to listen whenever I say something  _serious_ ; your life might be at stake," he told her, again repressing the urge to just blast her with ice to make sure she would stay  _put_.

At that Elsa perked up and narrowed her eyes, "well, no one ever warned me about someone wanting to  _kill_  me," she retorted and Frost sighed deeply.

"That's a matter  _I_  am going to take care of; it  _doesn't_ concern you," he replied, turning to look at her with an unreadable face.

Elsa gaped, her mouth opened in indignation and she huffed, " _my_  own life  _doesn't_  concern me? Are you sure about that? I mean, if anybody wanted  _you_  dead I bet  _you_  would do something about it, wouldn't you?"

 _I already did_ , he replied in his mind but said something different out loud, "if you try to engage against forces you have no knowledge about you're going to get killed, as you might have noticed already, and that's not convenient to either of us."

"Convenient?!" Elsa exclaimed, "that's all there is to this, right? It's all about what's  _convenient_  to you," she retorted really angrily.

Frost gaped at her, "since when is you- _not-dying_  only convenient to  _me_?" He shook his head in disbelief, "can you please, for once in your life, consider what I'm saying  _without_  believing it to be a conspiracy or a way to pick a fight? You don't want to die and I don't want you to die, can't we agree in at least that?" his patience was thinning, and Elsa was vaguely aware that that was the most he had heart the Frost Prince ever say. She was surprised to find she was actually considering what he had said; it wasn't as if that was changing who she was, but it still surprised her. She hated to admit he had a point.

But she didn't say it; instead she crossed her arms across her chest and averted her gaze in what looked like a pout, but of course, the queen wasn't pouting. She didn't pout and much less in front of Jack Frost. Said man snickered at the face, for a brief moment remembering another small girl who would make a similar one. He was quick to push the memory away and compose his face; it was no good to bring those memories back, as beautiful as they were, because they were also the most painful.

And so Jack Frost moved towards the door, "now rest well, you're going to need it," he told the queen and exited the room. Outside he found North and Tooth waiting expectantly, the fairy a living mass of nerves. She was quick to dart back into the room as soon as he went out, and the two men stayed staring at each other for a long while.

"Who is the young lass, Jack?" he asked, cautiously but with a spark of mirth in his eyes.

"She's  _meant_  to be my bride," Frost replied, indifferent and detached, bracing himself for what was to come. The big man's eyes widened.

"Then she is in grave danger," Nicholas said while his eyes narrowed.

"I know, but I'll protect her," the price retorted as he grabbed his cape and put it over his shoulders.

"You're not saying…. You can't…" North started, his eyes widening again when he realized what the prince was going to do. "You shouldn't go alone," he warned, remembering the times a young boy had been hurt by the hands of his  _cold_  father. Now he wasn't a young boy, and many protection laws had been designed to keep  _him_  from harm, but still no one really knew what the former Winter King was going to do once he was alone with Jack, who was still, technically, a child.

"I'm going alone," the prince interrupted North, "it's time I pay Old Man Winter a visit."

* * *

"Are you okay?" the Tooth Fairy asked for the hundredth time in less than an hour to the queen, who grew increasingly uncomfortable with the attention the fairy was giving her.

"I'll be fine Tooth, just relax," Elsa kept trying to calm the fairy, but the episode had been apparently too much for her nerves. And being someone who was constantly moving around, the extra stress didn't help to sit her down.

"I can't," Tooth replied curtly, as if it wasn't obvious, "how  _dare_ he do something like this? I never believed he could sink so  _low_ ," she was muttering, clearly upset.

Elsa rolled her eyes, trying her hardest not to groan; her head was starting to ache again and the anxiousness of the fairy wasn't helping. Suddenly, the window opened gently and a warm breeze entered the room.  _Wait… warm?_  Yes, indeed; Toothiana's jaw fell as she mouthed a clear 'oh-oh'. The queen didn't miss this, but before she could question further, a woman made her appearance, a woman Elsa knew very well.

In front of her stood the always might Mother Earth in all her glory, with a beautiful flowing dress that resembled an autumn forest. Her head this time was tied up high on her head in a perfect bun that only hardened her facial features. Elsa immediately straightened up in the bed, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin, even if the simple movements caused her pain

Mother Earth bowed, for once without mockery, and then assessed the hurt princess, "apparently I've arrived too late," she said in a low voice, making both ladies raise an eyebrow. "You can leave us Toothiana, no harm will come to Queen Elsa," she said to the fairy who was about to retort something not-so-nice, but Elsa shot her a quick glance that made her shut up. Suddenly, the neutral, normal gaze the queen displayed towards her, which always was tinted with a bit of amused affection, had turned to steal. Tooth was surprised, but didn't comment on it and left silently, closing the door behind her even if she was reluctant.

Elsa then squared her shoulders once again, straightening to the full height she could reach in her condition while glaring not so subtly at Mother Earth. She wasn't surprised by the hostility of the queen at all; in fact, she had almost been expecting it. This woman was responsible of Elsa's abduction, it was because of her that she never got to say goodbye to her sister and that she was taken away from her home. It helped no one to hold eternal grudges, especially if one was directed to immortal beings that could crush her with a flick of her wrist, but the queen couldn't help feel the resentment she had locked up beginning to boil.

"I came to see how you were doing," Mother Earth started, trying to start a polite conversation, "you must know that we never had any ill will towards you."

Elsa couldn't help but snort, "right, because kidnapping people from their beds in the dead of the night shows no sign of  _ill will_."

"I believe I owe you an apology for that," Mother Earth bowed slightly again.

Elsa rolled her eyes, of she could, she would've start pacing the floor; "right, because you already have what you wanted. I thought I was being very straight forward, doing things the right way and facing the problems to find a favorable solution; but then you come and do everything backwards and all my efforts were for nothing. If you wanted to prove how powerful you are, congratulations, you made your point," she made a gesture with her hands that covered her entire body and stopped pacing to face her. "Let me ask you something, if you could've done that in the first place, why didn't you do it before? You could've saved yourselves a lot of  _embarrassment_ , right?"

Mother Earth didn't like the queen's tone, but she supposed her complaints were backed up. To some extent, if not everything, what Elsa was saying was true. She had acted correctly, as every queen should've, and to get back at her they acted out of spite. Seeing it like that, the wisest seemed to be the twenty one year old woman, instead of the millionth year immortal who gave the idea.

Seraphina frowned, "I understand your anger, your resentment, but you should respect the person standing before you," she chastised.

"Yes, like you respected me in my own kingdom, if I'm not mistaken," Elsa replied curtly.

Mother Earth pursed her lips, but then she smirked slightly, "I've always admired women with courage and bravery; you are a very strong person, you have presence…" she tilted her head to assess the queen and then walked towards the bed where she lied, doing a broad movement with her arms, "even like  _that_  you still defy me and show authority; that is, in all honesty, impressive," she complimented.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Elsa asked puzzled, wondering what that woman wanted with her… after all, she was being  _nice-r_.

Mother Earth then came to stand right next to the queen, "I believe you're going to make a great Winter Queen, which brings me back to the reason I came here today. There are some immortals who won't like  _that_ ; you'll have to gain their respect, just like Jack did many years ago."

That comment took the queen  _completely_  by surprise, "what do you mean?" she asked, suddenly breathless and a bit scared, dreading what she was about to hear.

Mother Earth chuckled mirthlessly while she started pacing, "in an immortal life, things like greed and ambition can become very dangerous. When someone is going to live forever, what stops him, her or it from owning  _everything_?" she stayed silent for a few moments, letting her words sink in. "Do you know who attacked you?"

Elsa's eyes widened, "how did you know about that?" The queen almost groans in frustration when Mother Earth raised an eyebrow in a silent  _seriously? You're asking that?_  Which prompted the queen to explain herself, "this could've happened any other way, but you know it was an attack, how?"

"Oh, dear, who do you think you're talking to?" Mother Earth chuckled before composing herself, not really expecting an answer, "you haven't answered my question though."

Elsa pondered it over a few minutes, while the ever patient Mother Earth observed like an eagle; finally she sighed and nodded shyly, "the only thing I know is that it was Frost's father."

Mother Earth nodded thoughtfully, as if measuring how much she'd tell, before speaking again. "His name is Old Man Winter, and as you probably guessed, or knew, he will try to  _kill you_ ," she started and the queen had to repress the urge to add some sarcasm into the conversation. "He's dangerous, and very powerful. His powers can rival mine, and if he could he would kill you in seconds; you have to be  _very_ careful from now on."

Elsa wanted to pull at her hair, "but  _why_  does he want me dead? What did I  _ever_ do to him? And why hasn't he killed me if he is  _that_  powerful?" for the first time voicing her concerns, the queen felt like a child all over again when her parents hide something from her.

"It's not against you, but against the threat that you pose," Mother Earth patiently explained, "many years ago there was chaos over the Earth, and the seasons were completely deranged. The last king to ever be in control of the whole world was Old Man Winter, before I arrived and dethroned him. He could never overpower me, he still can't, but his craving for power never stopped and now you are threating _that_  power he craves so much. I've contained his as well as I can, with prohibitions, laws and regulations, but those have always  _holes_  in them."

Elsa was stunned, and then she felt outraged, "are you saying that I'm just another pawn in this  _sick game_  you play?" she all but yelled.

Mother Earth turned her back to the queen and went to the window, then she smiled sadly while she turned to look at Elsa once again, "my dear, that's the reason you were even  _born_ ," she said before standing up in the window sill. "You have been warned; it was a pleasure having this chat with you" she said before dematerializing into the air right in front of the queen's eyes, leaving her angry and confused.  _Why me?_

* * *

Jack Frost had to do two important things that day. Besides checking the progression on winter in certain parts of the world and controlling the other  _seasonals_  that wanted to go astray, he had to report to go to Old Man Winter. The first thing was done, the seconds he dreaded. It had been a little bit over sixty years since they had seen each other and that wasn't an experience worth treasuring. Still, he had to make sure that his father would  _stay away_  from Queen Elsa of Arandell.

And so he found himself flying towards the Himalaya Mountains where Old Man Winter had decided to establish after his  _forced_  retirement; even when Jack was sure that he was just waiting for him to screw up. Unluckily for him, Frost wasn't stupid and he knew how to handle himself. He arrived and there was a blizzard; anyone who knew the Old Man knew for certain that when there was a blizzard, there was trouble. Such was his reputation, and the reason everyone feared the Winter Court, even mortals.

More servants made of ice welcomed him into the palace, only these were designed to intimidate but the prince paid them no mind. A long time ago he feared them, but not anymore. He walked all the way towards the 'throne' room, because according to Old Man Winter he would  _never_  cease being a king. That was the reason Jack Frost had the title of  _prince_ , even when he had assumed the throne and its responsibilities many years ago.

The Old Man was lounging comfortably, apparently nonchalantly, in a really tall chair that simulated the throne that was in the Winter Court. He was a tall spirit; he was very thin, and one could say he was _weak_. He didn't have the appearance of an  _old man_  at all, so please don't get confused. He could appear to be any age he wanted, but he usually chose one of a middle aged man, with a trimmed beard, high cheekbones and small, hard eyes; but his skin was tinted slightly blue and his hair strikingly white, just because he didn't want to resemble humans in  _any_  way other than to spite Jack Frost, mocking the boy with the appearance any father should have had.

The  _prince_  made a stiff courtesy, "Father," he acknowledge, but his tone was as cold and detached as always, even if tinted with some resentment.

Old Man Winter turned his face to see him, feigning surprise, "oh,  _my son_ , I didn't see you there. You are most  _welcome_ ," he exclaimed feigning surprise, opening his arms in a welcoming manner, with a wide smile that showed all of his white teeth but didn't reach his eyes. It was a mask.

Jack Frost wasn't in the mood to play around, so he just decided to go straight to the point, "I believe we need to talk and address the recent  _issue_  concerning your  _pet_."

Winter frowned and stood up, "oh, you're always so  _cold_ ; don't tell me you didn't even miss me?" Jack avoided answering that question, and so the  _king_  finally lost his façade. His face lost the smile, his relaxed demeanor became stiffer and he straightened his back and shoulders. "I will never understand what motivated you to  _agree_  to lend your magic to those mortals. They don't deserve the help of those like us, who belong to the  _elite_  of the world," he continued, standing up and pacing around Jack like a vulture around a corpse.

"That is no excuse for you to try and  _murder_   _my fiancée,_ " the prince spat, glaring at his father, prompting Old Man Winter to snort.

"Oh, so now she's  _your fiancée_? If I'm not mistake she didn't even want the marriage in the first place and you were completely indifferent towards her presence," the  _king_  mocked with a sly smile, which caused Jack to tense and take a sharp breath.

"You've been spying on me," he stated because it wasn't a question; Jack was as certain of that fact as he was certain the sky was blue.

"Oh, I've been doing it for years! You know, just waiting for the right moment in which Mother Earth will finally see the real nuisance  _you_  are and give me back  _my_  throne," Old Man Winter spat, apparently nonchalantly, but with the intention of hurting Jack Frost.

"You can't break your end of the deal," Jack warned, his stone and eyes hard and contained, his face completely devoid of emotion, masking everything that would make him appear  _weak_  before  _his father's_ eyes.

"You mean the deal Mother Earth  _forced_ me to make?" he snorted, "I can't hurt  _you_ ; no one said anything about the  _human_ ," Old Man Winter retorted while looking at his nails, as if searching for some imperfection.

"So you don't deny it," Jack countered.

"Why should I? Let the girl know who I am, let her know what she's going to be dealing with, let her know that with a snap of my fingers I can  _destroy_  her," the  _king_  mocked.

"Leave her  _out_  of this, you're grudge is with  _me_ ," Frost gave a step forward, stepping up for an innocent human girl. As much as she did her best to spite him and as much as she didn't like him, she wasn't evil and she didn't deserve to deal with a force like Old Man Winter's wrath.

"You got her  _in_ this mess since you lent her your magic,  _my magic_! If she wasn't strong enough to be even  _born_ , you should've just let her die. But no, you had to play along with Mother Earth and now you'll use  _the human_  to get  _my throne_ , a throne that I shouldn't have had to share in the first place," Old Man Winter was fuming, tired of childish games and tricks.

Jack Frost couldn't help but smirk, "you should've thought so when you decided to screw my mother," he retorted, knowing that was a sore spot for the Old Man, even if the prince did hate retorting to  _that_. Winter had dedicated an entire century in efforts to try to convince Jack that humans were nothing more than mere scum… even his own mother; his  _human_  mother. Of course Jack Frost never fell for that old trick, even if he had to fake he did.

But the Old Man Winter was an old man, and he was really clever; he could play that game too. "I'm going to tell you what's going to happen,  _Jack_ ; you're going to outlive the human girl, you're going to watch her die because she will  _never_  be like you. You're going to watch her die just like you watched your worthless mother die  _that_  winter along with your useless sister, and all because of  _you_ ," Jack's face remained immutable even when every word his  _beloved_   _daddy_  was like a hot iron on his raw skin. "And at the end of it all, you're going to die too, and the throne will once again belong to  _me_. I can wait, you _know_  I'm a patient man; I'm as old as the Earth itself, and  _Mother Earth_  can vouch for that."

Jack Frost listened, took the impact of every word without so much of a flinch, as he learned to do when dealing with Old Man Winter. His eyes didn't tear up anymore, his soul when breaking didn't hurt; it just left him feeling numb. And so, he could find the strength to reply to that after the long silence had extended too much, "then I'm afraid I'll have to keep your  _pet_  in confinement. It was nice seeing you¸  _dad_ ," and then he turned to leave.

Old Man's Winter façade also returned, "of course,  _my son_ , I hope you come visit soon. Say hello to your pretty  _fiancée_ , tell her to be careful with the ice,  _it can be slippery_."

With that, the heavy doors of the room closed with a resounding  _thump_  and Jack Frost exited the palace on his own, taking flight again towards the Winter Court.

He would need to find the spy and destroy it; it had to be one of those ice made servants because it was easily camouflaged. Old Man Winter could do that or more with only his gaze, so it wasn't as hard to believe. When he was arriving, though, he caught a glimpse of Mother Earth, sliding away from the Winter Court silently. He had to resist the urge to groan.

* * *


	11. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another update because of the delay I gave you. I'm really sorry, really, really sorry about that hehehe. If you'd like I also have the story on FFnet under the pen name of ClearEyes, and usually I update faster there. Thanks to everyone who's reading the story, who's supporting it and in a bit I'll be replying to the comments.

Jack arrived in the central courtyard to be received by a frantic Toothiana. Before she could say anything, though, Jack Frost raised his hand and halted her. "I know, I saw her leave," he replied dryly.

"She came to see Elsa," the fairy then provided, shifting nervously in her place.

"I figured as much," he replied, "she knows when I'm not around." He moved to enter the palace, taking his cloak and handing it to one of the many ice servants and headed to his personal study. Toothiana was following him apprehensively. "How is she?" he then asked, obviously referring to the queen.

"She's fine… wait, why are you asking? You don't ask unless you suspect something,  _anything_ , could be wrong…" her voice faded and she got lost in thought. The fluttering of her wings died down slowly as she pieced two and two and came to a shocking realization she wished wasn't true. "Where are you returning from?"

Jack rolled his eyes as he went to the window, "you know  _exactly_  where I went."

Tooth gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth; "why didn't you tell me? I could've gone with you!"

Jack turned abruptly to face Tooth, startling her, "no, that was something  _I_  needed to deal with  _alone_ ," he replied and turned back to the window, his back once again towards Tooth.

"Is that why you're so tense right now?" Jack didn't reply, instead just stared at the barren landscape. "What did he tell you?"

Jack snorted mirthlessly, "why are you asking all of this when you  _already_  know?"

"And you believed him?" Tooth retorted to which Jack gritted his teeth and didn't reply. "You can't keep blaming yourself; it was not your fault! You were only a child," she pleaded, trying to make Jack feel better.

"But it was because of  _my_  powers," he replied softly, "they might've lived longer and better if  _I_  hadn't been around." His eyes were hard as he glared through the glass and to the snow outside of his window, his fists closed tightly. Outside, the weather was starting to change, reacting to his mood.

"Jack, you need to calm down," Tooth said placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "everything he says is meant to provoke you, to make you react like  _this_ ," she took a deep breath, "he wants you to make a  _mistake_."

Jack closed his eyes tight and forced himself to take deep breaths and to calm his mind. When he felt he had managed to calm the forming storm outside also, he opened them again. " _How_ is she?" he repeated, now concerning about Mother Earth's visit specifically. For someone who didn't know her, she could appear really cold and ruthless, while she was just being plain  _blunt_. Still, she was always the bearer of not so pleasant news, so she must have spoken with the queen of something rather serious; he had a hunch he knew what they had talked about.

"When I left her she was fine, even if in pain; she is a very strong girl," he hummed softly, not really listening after the  _fine_  and distracted by his own thoughts. His memories were coming to him in flashes, those memories he worked really hard to keep locked up. Tooth perceived his mood, and she knew what to do. "I should probably go back to her, perhaps she needs something" the fairy said out of the blue and Jack felt sheer gratefulness at that.

"Yes, you probably should; she probably needs you right now," he said, his polite way of telling her to leave him, without being  _him_  the one to kick her out.

Tooth stood in her place, though, moving nervously, "what did you tell her?" she tried asking, referring to the time the queen had been left alone with him, but from the glance Jack gave her she knew he wasn't going to answer her. He looked more tired than usual, vulnerable; and she knew he hated that. He didn't want anyone seeing his  _weakness_  and so he shut everyone out. She slowly flew out of the room closing the door behind her, directing one last sad glance at the boy she strived to protect.

Once she was gone, Jack closed his eyes tightly, trying to push away the memories that threatened to overcome him. The effort made him groan, and he decided he needed to sleep if he didn't want to create a massive blizzard. And so, he picked up some stuff and went towards his chambers and locked the door, adding a block of ice just in case, so that no one would disturb him. He stashed some papers away, saved some stuff on their respective drawers, and changed into his night robes even if the sun was  _just_  starting to set. He opened a single drawer in his bedside table and took out a brown leather pouch. He loosened the tie and opened it, revealing shinning golden dust; no, not dust, sand.

Vaguely he remembered it had been a long time since he had seen the Sandman, at least eighty years or something. He knew that he was constantly working and couldn't be bothered with pointless visits, but still the prince realized with nostalgia he missed them. He cursed under his breath; his memories were making him emotionally vulnerable, his shield was cracking. So, he stopped thinking and grabbed some dream sand before stashing the pouch away. He laid down on top of his bed and sprinkled the so needed sand on his face, falling asleep instantly.

* * *

Tooth was worried; she was always worried when it came to Jack. The fact that he had gone to Old Man Winter himself, alone, being well aware of the dirty tricks and spiteful words he could say… She always disapproved of Jack staying in the Winter Court with his father. She even spoke to mother Earth and volunteered her home.

Mother Earth, though, claimed that by being with Old Man Winter restricted his movements. He could not harm Jack publicly or even scheme something because the boy could hear, or even Toothiana herself. As an old saying said, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. She had always calculative, and for official matters she usually knew how to keep her head cool. In the fairy's point of view, she didn't even care about endangering a little boy, as long as she could keep Old Man Winter in check. Which is why, when she saw her arriving that day, she was really surprised. When she said she wanted to see Elsa, Tooth had been downright alarmed.

 _If she did anything to her_ , Toothiana warned in her mind, damning the consequences of her tone and conveniently ignoring that Mother Earth overpowered her.

When she tried to tell her to leave, to save Elsa a  _sour_  time, the queen had glared at her with such intensity that the fairy didn't say anything in the end. The resentment, the anger in those eyes wasn't directed toward Toothiana; she knew it, but still such a gaze made her blood run cold. Maybe she wasn't so defenseless after all… and after Mother Earth had left Elsa had said she wanted to be alone and shut the door  _with ice_. Of course, she wasn't going to tell that to Jack, he had enough worries on him already.

On the way to Elsa's chambers, she passed through the kitchen. She prepared some tea and biscuits that she put in a tray and took with her. When she arrived, she knocked.

"Go away, Tooth, I told you I want to be alone," Elsa said, her voice strained and contained, faked.

"I know you  _don't_  want to be alone right now, and that you're probably hungry. I brought you some tea and biscuits," she replied cheerfully, adding the last part with bribing tone. Tooth fidgeted nervously, thinking it may not have worked, when she heard the door unfreeze and the fairy then opened the door to reveal that half of the furniture of the room was encased in thick ice. "You shouldn't be using your powers," the fairy chastised softly while she made her way with the tray of food and placed in top of Elsa's bedside table.

Elsa huffed and turned her head from the concerned eyes of Toothiana, not daring to look at her in the eye, as if ashamed of  _something_. That rang the alarm bells inside Tooth, because the queen was a forward person, someone who wanted to give her face and confront her problems. And yet, not it seemed as if she were hiding something, some dark secret that had just been revealed to her and she just was too embarrassed.

Toothiana flew softly to the other side of the bed and sat down next to the queen. She leaned against the wall, carefully folding her wings so that they wouldn't get hurt. She took the queen's hand in hers, squeezing softly to transmit comfort; "what did  _she_  tell you?" she asked shyly.

Elsa sighed, looking miserable, her voice once again forced and strained, "she came to warn me," she started, "about the immortals who would want me dead. I knew that, I wasn't expecting to fit in immediately, but then she said something else that…" she sighed again and lowered her gaze to her hands, which were folded on her lap. She was trying her hardest not to break right there and then; she had endured so much, so far… she could still do so, even if she wasn't as certain as before.

Another soft, comforting squeeze from the Tooth Fairy told her to keep going, and so the queen continued, "besides letting me know that my life is in danger by one of the most powerful immortal entities out there, which on its own is frightening enough, she told me that  _somehow_  I'm just a pawn in this… fight between her and Old Man Winter. My purpose of being born, of being allowed to live… am I really  _only_ meant to do  _that_?" the queen finished, her voice breaking in the end even when she tried to keep it even.

And then Tooth hugged her really tight. Embraced between the petites arms of the fairy, with the warm she so yearned, she couldn't hold it any longer and thick tears started flowing. Mother Earth's visit had been the last drop, and in that moment when she had started to wonder what her life  _meant_ … she couldn't believe it; she refused to believe it. The loss of her family, being away from home, the coldness of the place not only physical, but the lack of any type of warm in the castle with the exception of the bubbly Tooth Fairy…  _why_  did it have to be her? Why must it be her the one to be snatched away, why did she have to freeze her sister's heart, why did her parents have to die, why, why, why did they have to ask for Mother Earth's magic? Overall,  _why_  was everything happening to  _her_? All she ever wanted was to be able to lead a relatively  _normal_  life, and yet there she was. What did she  _ever_   _do_  to deserve such a lonely fate?

For Tooth the current situation was way too familiar, more than it should've been; in fact, it felt almost like déjà vu. It had been three months since Jack had arrived to the Winter Court; Old Man Winter, wanting to rid Jack of whatever  _humanity_  he had left had changed his name to Jack Frost, any other mention of his mother, his sister, his human family or his human village was going to be punished and in a moment of weakness the fairy had found Jack crying in a corner of his room. It had been a hard day of training, in which Old Man Winter had decided to  _punish_  the kid for  _every single thing_  he got wrong. He was only a boy! Of course he would make mistakes, but his father didn't stop. Tooth had to step in and take Jack away from him to avoid a serious injury.

The kid felt so lonely, wondering what had he ever done to deserve that? Was being born really the motive to have such a miserable life? Was he being punished for the sins of the cold man that claimed to be his father? Had it been really his fault, the death of his mother and sister? He knew it had to be, how else could he explain it? The winters before his powers appeared the winter's hadn't been as cold and crude… maybe it  _was_  his fault, maybe he did  _deserve_  to be burned in a pyre like his stepfather had claimed… or die by the ice of his father because he did everything  _wrong_.

And in such state Tooth had found him in his room, hugging his knees in a dark corner, as if he just wanted to disappear, and she cradled him; she held him tight, she sang to him until he fell asleep, and she didn't leave. It was the first time in her life she stayed perfectly still for hours on end until dawn rose and the child woke up. But when he woke up something had already been broken, his eyes didn't shine as bright and his smile wasn't as wide. The fairy didn't want history repeating itself; she was not going to let Elsa lose her humanity or her feelings or her  _life_  because of what Mother Earth told her.

And so she chose her words carefully, "you were born because your parents desired a child. You were a wanted daughter for them, and they craved you so much they asked for help. There's nothing  _wrong_ with asking for help when you need it; there's no need to try to be strong  _on your own_. Sometimes, you can draw strength from others around you, you can draw strength from me," Elsa sniffled and the fairy could feel her trembling, the tears wetting her feathers but in that moment it didn't mind at all. "Don't heed what Mother Earth told you. She is old, she is  _cold_ , never taking into account the feelings of others, but let me tell you that your purpose  _is not_  to be a pawn. You are meant to do great things, and you can  _choose_  the way you want to  _play_. You can sit and wait for Mother Earth to dictate your movements," _like Jack did_ , "or you can change the rules and play by your own. Even if she did help your parents, you are not her property; you are not one of the entities she can control and you do not belong  _to_  her. You're _you_ , and only  _you_  decide  _what_  you want to do."

Elsa had listened carefully, feeling something heavy lifting from her soul. She wiped her tears and sniffed, before breaking the hug and looking into the amethyst eyes of Tooth, "do you really believe so?" she asked shyly.

The fairy chuckled lightly, "no, I don't believe so; I know so," she said and the queen exhaled in relief.

"Well then," she said feeling some of herself returning from her hideout, "I won't break anymore and I won't listen to what Mother Earth, or Old Man Winter himself, or Jack Frost, tells me," she said with determination and Tooth smiled at her. This girl was stronger than what any of them gave her credit for, she was going to be fine as long as she believed it, and Tooth was going to make  _sure_  she didn't stop believing it.

* * *

Jack Frost woke up feeling lighter. The dream sand worked wonders on him and it always made him feel better… until he woke up and realized that everything had been a dream. He couldn't be with his sister, or with his mother… he was  _alone_ , and he would always be that way. He stared at his ceiling for a few minutes, gathering his strength to be able to go through another day of the life that had been thrown upon him. But it was useless living in the past and it helped no one, so he buried his emotions and his memories before standing up, changing his clothes and going to his private studio.

He was going to go check up on Elsa's injuries later so that he could give North a full report when he returned in a few days to undo the stitches. On the meantime, he needed to review his maps and mark the course of the wind, to wherever the winter was meant to start and from wherever the winter was meant to finish. Then he'd do his rounds, and probably pay a visit to Mother Earth, and then he had to feed the beast. He groaned only from thinking about the work he needed to do, because apart from that he needed to find the spy, destroy it and find security measures to protect the queen from  _his_  father.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shy knock and he didn't need to ask who it was to know. The only breathing people in the palace were the queen, himself and Toothiana; seeing as the queen was bedridden and would be until her ankle healed the only one who'd be knocking on his door was the fairy. He didn't want to see her, he didn't want to talk to her, but he knew telling her so would be futile; he didn't answer, as usual when he was upset, so Toothiana opened the door.

She had a tray of food in her hands and flew it to the desk; Jack still acted as if she wasn't even there. "Please Jack," she said grabbing his hand, "don't shut me out."

He moved it away as if it burned him, "don't go there Toothiana," he said calling her with her full name, as he did when he wasn't in mood of playing along with her.

But the fairy had never been one to  _just_  give up, "you need to eat, you need to come out of your shell; you can try to find happiness with a beautiful woman who feels as lonely as you do, why won't you give _that_  a chance?" she pleaded.

Jack closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, clenching his fists, "if I get too close I'm going to kill her, she's a  _human_ ," he replied.

"But she's not weak," the fairy retorted, "You have to admit that she is  _anything_  but weak."

Jack wanted to listen, he wanted the loneliness to end, but he knew better than to let it happen. "And still she won't survive if she engages against my full power, let alone Winter's.  _I_  am going to protect her and I won't let her die, even if it means that I can  _never_  get too close."

Tooth sighed, "so you're still going to be distant, and detached, and downright  _cold_?" she asked, feeling pissed at the stubbornness of the boy.

"I am the embodiment of winter, Tooth; I am supposed to be cold, I am supposed to be a sad season with no warmth, and this is what I was  _always_  meant to be. If it means she'll stay  _alive_ , then yes," he replied finally daring to look into Tooth's eyes, his mask well put into place. He was never meant to  _love_ , his life had proven that. Everyone he had ever loved had ended up dead, and even when he  _needed_  the human queen to be his bride, he would never cross the thin line called  _love_. If it was for his protection or hers, he wasn't certain.

Toothiana huffed and exited the room, going back to the kitchens to prepare the breakfast for Elsa who would be soon waking up. When he was alone again, Jack groaned and flopped into his chair, pressing his fingers against his forehead. He wanted to  _break_  something, so now he had another thing to add to his already many chores: go and release some steam up in the mountains.

* * *

Five days passed and Elsa was surely getting better. The potion North had given her worked miracles and she could feel her strength coming back. She still couldn't get out of bed though. Nicholas had come a couple of days prior to remove the thread in her forehead, and she had discovered with great satisfaction that the salve did its work and now she only had a tiny rosy line that could be very well disguised with her hair, so she didn't worry about it.

On that day, she had been well rested and her body didn't ache as much, so she could actually speak to the big man. She discovered he was a toy maker… and a magician's apprentice. He lived in a village called Santoff Claussen with his teacher called Ombric making toys for the kids and learning spells, as well as some things about healing, including the preparations of salves and potions as well as spells. He was widely known and appreciated among the immortals as well as among the mortals, as the queen also found out.

"What's your story, Queen Elsa?" he then addressed the queen, when he had finished telling her his stories of adventure that left her with her eyes wide open in sheer  _wonder_.

In response to the question, her eyes dimmed and she looked away, "I don't know if I should be called that anymore, now my sister is going to be queen while I… I'm not anymore," she said, for the first time actually thinking about the matter, some part of her still affected by what Mother Earth had told her.

To her surprise, North laughed merrily, "there are queens that  _learn_ how to be queens, while there are queens who are  _born_  to be so. You, my dear, were  _born_  a queen; your manners, your strength, the way you walk and impose respect. That way, even without a kingdom you are still a queen," he said and Elsa blushed.

"T-thanks," she stuttered, never having gotten used to flattery or compliments and feeling awkward because she didn't know what to say or do afterwards. What do you say to someone who said you were pretty, or smart, or tall, or thin? It's like… well… okay, thanks and bye, which left her feeling awkward. Still the big man just laughed it off, without mockery; instead it was as if he was laughing  _with_  her.

And so she proceeded to tell him the story of her life; how she needed to keep her powers a secret because of an accident with Anna, of how she discovered that love was strongest than anything else, and finally how she ended up as Jack Frost's bride. North was left with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't believe the girl before her, and so he asked her to make something with the ice. They spent the last few hours before he left with Elsa making different demonstrations of what she could do; nothing too taxing or dangerous, of course.

"You hold a great power, Queen Elsa," North told her as he was leaving, "but you know not how to control it. Perhaps you should find someone to help you, to  _train_  you," he suggested and Elsa's eyes widened.

"Would you do it if I asked?" she asked Nicholas, hoping against hope he would agree.

North chuckled, "of course I would, only if I could," he replied which left the queen puzzled.

"What do you mean?" she asked, not quite understanding what he was trying to say.

"The magic I use is one that humans can learn," North started, "the magic you possess, your power is one of the most ancient on the Earth and you were  _born_  with it. Even if I wanted to help you with your training, I wouldn't know how."

"But then who could train me? I doubt Mother Earth would agree to such a thing," Elsa mused with a frown, not only did she might not agree, she didn't want to have to ask  _that woman_  for help.

"Well, you can always go to the man who gave you your magic," North supply.

Elsa was honestly stunned, and astonished; Jack Frost? Really? That man could barely look at her, and for the way he had been avoiding her like the plague itself he must have been pretty pissed with her stunt. She had to admit she was a little scared too; she had seen the extent of his powers when he caged the beast and she was sure that that display was only the tip of the iceberg. She gulped. "Do you think  _he_  would teach me?" she asked defiantly and then scoffed, trying to shake the uncomfortable feeling that settled upon her.

"Yes," North replied putting on his coat, "if you know  _how_  to ask."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, "and  _how_ is that? I don't  _know_  him," she retorted, lifting her arms in annoyance.

North made a thoughtful face, even when he already knew the answer. Then, his eyes shone with  _that_  spark of mirth they usually held and winked at Elsa, "a challenge." After that he bowed deeply and left the room, his shoulders shaking with contained laughter.

And that's how we found our queen on the fifth day of her confinement, when she felt her ankle was strong enough to support her, holding an ice cane she made and limping her way towards Jack Frost's personal studio, where she knew she would find him. The queen had to beg, plead and convince Tooth to tell her how to get there, she had to invent a million excuses, but in the end she was finally in the end. Oh, she'd never hear the end of it from the fairy.

She stood before the door, licking her lips nervously, before adopting her most regal pose and knocking hard on the door.

* * *

Jack had been avoiding the queen. With the few exceptions of visiting to fill the reports, or to be there when North  _was_ , he avoided her chambers altogether. Instead he focused on his other's tasks to pass the time. And he was peacefully tracing his route for the winter in Europe when someone knocked on the door. The sound was strange, stronger than it should've been if Tooth had knocked, so his gut knew it had to be the queen. Besides, if he remembered correctly, the fairy had to check on her palace and her mini-fairies, having realized that going only at night didn't give her enough time to keep up with her duties. He doubted she'd return at all that day, which only led to the same conclusion. He thought it was extremely strange, before deciding it wasn't worth the trouble. He didn't answer, because the human girl wasn't Tooth and she wasn't going to just walk in. Perhaps she'd think he wasn't there. But the queen didn't stop, and she wouldn't leave. So after a few minutes of unstopping knocking, what little Tooth had rubbed in her took charge and she opened the door a tiny bit, enough for her to see  _him_ inside. Jack had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," he told her without lifting his eyes form the map he had in front of him, wanting to get her to leave by being, as always, rude to her. The queen didn't reply as she made her way slowly towards the desk; he realized she was limping and probably in pain and thought about motioning to a chair in front of the desk he was working on for her to sit on, but that would kill the purpose of the whole  _being rude_  thing, as well as the avoidance.

Elsa leaned on the back of the chair, suddenly nervous. She knew what he had to do; she had spent the last two days planning what to say, what  _challenge_  to make, because she understood what North had wanted to say. Jack Frost was a proud man, he would never resist the urge to win and rub it in her face (she was wrong, just so you know), but it had been way easier in her mind.

"Did you just walk all the way across the palace only to sit there and do nothing? You could use the chambers you  _demanded_  for the exact same thing," he told her, raising an eyebrow, mocking her as usual. And then she knew he wasn't mad at her and she  _almost_  sighed in relief,  _almost_  being the key word. Still it didn't mean that the conversation would go smoothly at all.

"I came to ask you something," she said which prompted Jack to raise his eyebrow even more, skeptically, daring her to say something,  _anything_ ; "I want you to train me and teach me how to use my powers."

His face lost all mockery and turned dead serious, "and why would you request such a thing?" he asked, a bit defensively and suddenly more tense, "you don't need  _any_  of that."

"Because someone wants to  _kill_  me, as you may know," she started, "and I want to be able to  _protect_  myself."

Frost scoffed, " _I'll_  protect you, you don't have to worry about that," he replied and returned to his map, expecting the queen to just accept it and go. But no, there was no such thing with feisty queen Elsa, right?

"It's highly improbable that you will be able to do so when we barely see each other. I believe it's necessary that I learn how to use  _my_ powers properly, even if they come from  _your_  magic," she replied, squaring her shoulders, raising her chin and using her most proud manner. "In fact, precisely because I possess the same magic you do, you should be the one to teach me," she added, completely improvising.

"The topic isn't open for discussion, I won't help you, not like that; now leave," he said, his patience thinning. Of all the type of woman that could've been born, it had to be the one that likes to pick up fights, right?

Elsa knew then she had to resort to North's advice, "I challenge you, then," she suddenly declared, making Jack Frost turn his head in surprise to look at her as if she had grown three more heads and a tail. "The last time you tried that it didn't go very well with  _you_ , did it?" he smirked, remembering how easily it was to stop the fight  _she_  started in the dining room.

Elsa scowled but didn't comment on it, "This is another type of challenge," she said and Jack Frost looked at her cautiously, his eyes narrowed. What kind of challenge could it possibly be, then? "I challenge _you_  to a game of  _Chess_. If  _I_  win, you have to train me, if  _you_  win, I won't ask  _anything_  of the sort anymore," she explained. "Do we have a deal?"

She extended her hand and looked at Frost in the eye. He cursed North in his mind; he knew Jack's weaknesses were challenges, the man had known Jack wouldn't be able to refuse. Seeing the hand there, the challenge of a  _chess_  game… it had been so long since he had played a real, intense and interesting match. When he started winning Tooth every time, when he had learned all her tricks, when he had mastered the Tooth Fairy in ability, the game had lost its  _fun_. And now he had a challenge in front of him, against someone he had never played with; it was a unique chance, and he could feel the excitement of the game in his veins already. A familiar yet foreign feeling that started in his feet and up his body, a feeling he hadn't felt in much too many years. Damning the consequences and giving in to temptation, Jack took Elsa's hand in his and shook it firmly, "deal!"

* * *

Many hours later, the game was still going.

Jack and Elsa were sitting face to face in a small, square table. On the table was a chess board, the prince was playing whites while the queen was playing blacks. Jack was frowning, chewing his lip while trying to read the strategy of the queen while she just stared with a poker face into the board. Both of them were excellent strategies, but Elsa already had a hunch of that. Jack, on the other hand, did very wrong when he underestimated the queen. She might have been childish and reckless in the decisions she made when she was angry, or sad, or just wanted to pick a fight; but when she let her head cool down, her intelligence was something to be feared.

The prince then finally moved the king because it was being attacked by Elsa's queen. He turned to look Elsa, trying to read her expression, when she smirked and moved her hand swiftly towards the board. "Check mate," she declared while moving one of his pawns forward and it was left in the  _exact_  position to defeat Jack's king. The prince's jaw slacked.

"It can't be," he muttered while he looked at the board intently again. He doubled check, he tripled check, but the result was definitive: Elsa had won the match. Unbelievable, and completely unexpected, she had managed to win a game out of sheer luck (because most of her movements had been pure improvisation) against Jack Frost. Twice was she about to lose her queen, twice had she managed to save her, and those times were the ones that wrecked  _his_  game, for he had been trying to get rid of it. Hence, he didn't see the threat that the pawn possessed, and he didn't even consider it. How could a pawn win against the  _king_? Of all the mighty places she still had, her bishop, two horses, her queen and a tower, she defeated him with a  _pawn_!

He raised his glance from the board and looked at Elsa, who had her chin raised with pride and confidence about the result. And yet, deep down, she was scared he would find a flaw and say it hadn't really been check mate. He didn't, she had won; against every odd and with a  _pawn_. She couldn't have been happier, but she disguised it well and only allowed a tiny smug smirk to cross her lips. "I believe I am the winner, and so you have to do your end of the deal," she declared, the laugh clear on her voice.

Frost sighed; not only had he been defeated in chess, a game of sheer strategy, and by a woman,  _human_  at that. No, he had also made a  _deal_. He had been confident in winning, he promised to help her train and learn about her powers, not actually expecting  _her_  to win. But she was smart, she  _could_  see, she  _had_ defeated him, and now she  _had_  to do what he promised. If he refused she would never let him live it down, after all, he was the one who insisted about the deal  _her parents_  made and practically forced her to come to the Winter Palace. Actually, he did force her; he kidnapped her! It would've been totally unfair to expect someone the payment of a deal, but it went it came to paying himself just say no. And so, he nodded softly and stood up.

He walked around the table and put his hand out to Elsa to take. She took it, expecting a shaking of sorts like the  _friendly_  players did, but was surprised when instead the prince helped her rise to her feet, "well played," he then said. "Not bad for a  _human_ ," he said jokingly, his trademark smirk in place but with no cruelty in his eyes.

Elsa doubted his intentions though, and replied with another joke. She made it sure it would sound like she was joking, because  _she was_ , but she was still weary. She had never seen or heard Jack Frost act like that. "I could say the same to you," was her reply, "not bad for a  _brat_."

It was the first time she called him that  _out loud_  and it got the desired effect, "hey!" Frost exclaimed, "I'm not a  _brat_ ," he replied with a childish frown that made him look cute even if the queen didn't perceive it as such.

"Whatever you say," Elsa retorted and turned around to return to her chambers. She grabbed her cane, which was supported against the wall, and limp her way towards the door, "as soon as my ankle heals, we start first thing in the morning," she said purposely smugly to irritate the prince. After all, he  _did_  deserve a taste of his own medicine.

* * *

Later that night, when Jack was lying on his bed, he found that he couldn't fall asleep. He kept replaying and replaying the match, seeing mistakes  _he_  made that led to that outcome and also mistakes  _she_ made that he could've taken advantage of. His mind then played a trick on him. Instead of picturing the board with the pieces of the game, the prince found himself thinking about the way Elsa bit her lip while she was thinking what piece to move next; he remembered the way she frowned when he was  _just about_  to eat kill her queen, and the way her eyes widened when she found a way to save it.

He realized what his mind had done soon enough; startled, he sat up abruptly on his bed and shook his head fiercely. He was not thinking about Elsa, he was thinking about the match. He was not going to think about her as something else than his means to become king, lose the grip his father had on him, and have an heir. Elsa, no,  _the human_  was nothing to him, she meant nothing and she'd never mean anything. He was not supposed to get close to her; the queen had  _Toothiana_  to keep her company. He'd help her train, he'd do his part of the deal, and that was it; nothing more.

His head and ideas clear, he laid back determined and decided to sleep and not think any more about what transpired that day. But if by any chance he thought he would like to have another match of Chess with Elsa, he'd die before admitting it out loud.


	12. AUTHOR NOTE:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SADLY, THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER. READ BELOW PLEASE TO FIND OUT MORE.

MY DEAR READERS:

CURRENTLY I'M UNABLE TO UPDATE CHAPTERS IN AO3, BUT YOU CAN ALL READ THE STORY WITH A FEW MORE CHAPTERS IN FANFICTION DOT NET WHERE I'VE GOT A FEW MORE CHAPTERS THAN HERE.

FOR PERSONAL REASONS, THE STORY IN THIS SITE IS ON HIATUS, BUT YOU CAN LOOK FOR IT UNDER THE PEN NAME OF CLEAREYES IN FFNET PLASE. I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THE INCONVINIENCE, I HATE TO DO THIS.

THE STORY IS NOT ON HIATUS, ONLY THE UPDATES ON THIS PARTICULAR SITE AND FOR THE TIME BEING. I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO RESUME THE UPDATES IN HERE SOON, THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME.

SINCERELY,

SLEEPINGSIREN

P.S. COMPLAINTS ARE UNDERSTANDABLE AND ACCEPTED, THE ONLY THING THAT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IS HATE.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the end of the prologue/pilot. I hope you liked it, there will be more to come. I say so because I already started writing the following chapters, in hopes that this time I can update regularly. I am not going to lie, I suck at keeping deadlines, but I'm doing my best to maintain them this time around. Also, I believe I have two unfinished stories and I'd like to be honest too: I have no idea on how to continue either one of them. That doesn't mean I'm not trying, but I've been breaking my head on trying to find inspiration for those, forbidding myself of uploading anything else, and I just realized that doing such only makes everything worse. I hope that by doing this story I'll be able to finally finish those stories and come to full term.
> 
> Until we meet again,
> 
> SleepingSiren


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